From Another's Eyes
by Shyma Tavrott Lupin
Summary: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban from the eyes of Remus Lupin. Non-Slash,Complete.
1. Prolouge

**Hey guys, well here's another Harry Potter story for you guys =] This one is actually a project for English which I handed in just the other day. I was supposed to re-write a novel from another character's POV. Now as you know there's a lot of missing pieces on Remus's part which I filled in so this is a bit AU on those parts. Plus I took the book and the movie and sort of fused them to make it a bit more interesting =] And since technically it is a story, I decided to post it here =] So Enjoy!**

**Prologue**

Autumn had come early this year in London. The multi-colored leaves drifted along and it was only half way through August. A light breeze made itself across the skies, ruffling the light brown hair of one man as he walked about.

Remus John Lupin strode through the quiet empty hallways of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. The only sound that could be heard around him was the clicking of his shoes against the marble floor. He was headed in the direction of the Headmaster's office in this oh so familiar building. Though he was in his early thirties, Remus still remembered the days back when he wandered these very halls as a student. He sighed and pushed the memories away. Because with every happy memory came a pain filled one as well.

The young man quickly found himself standing in front of the large heavy doors of the office of Albus Dumbledore. Headmaster and undoubtedly one of the greatest wizards alive. Remus took a deep breath and raised his fist to knock. But the second his knuckles made contact with the steel of the doors, they swung open.

That was odd. Remus peered in and saw the office was empty. Not a single aged headmaster anywhere to be seen. Nevertheless he stepped into the office and was instantly throttled by an overpowering sense of deja vu. He suddenly felt like he was 16 again, stepping into the office of his headmaster because he got caught up in one of James and Sirius's stupid pranks.....again.

Sirius and James...

Oh how much Remus's heart ached at the thought of his two old friends. Despite 13 years having passed since the incident, he _still _couldn't believe it. He still couldn't believe Sirius had betrayed them...and it had cost them not only James, but his wife Lily's and their friend Peter's life. And it got Sirius thrown into Azkaban. For life.

It didn't help though that Remus woke up one fine morning a month or so back, to the sound of his owl tapping at his window. Then opened up the newspaper that the animal handed him and saw Sirius on the front page...the headline...**AZKABAN BREAKOUT:SIRIUS BLACK!**

Of course that only increased the pain. The fact that he had broken out. Still...somehow Remus couldn't bring himself to hate Sirius. It all just felt so wrong. And Remus knew there had to be a missing piece somewhere....but where exactly...he couldn't find in the span of 13 whole years. It was quite frustrating.

Sometimes when he was feeling particularly down, he would begin to walk towards the Potter house to seek the company of his closest friends...and then half way there he would remember...

They were no more.

Remus threw those thoughts aside once more and tried to focus on the present. He wondered why Dumbeldore had called him all of a sudden. After the media had started bombarding him about the sad fates of his four friends, 13 years ago, he had gone off to make a living amongst the muggles. And he was doing such a fantastic job at disappearing off the face of the magical world too...

And then Dumbledore's call came along.

Remus walked deeper into the office, gazing all around him at the various trinkets that decorated the large office. A sudden, yet melodious call brought his attention to the corner of the office where Fawkes, the Phoenix was perched.

The bird watched carefully as Remus approached him.

"Hello there Fawkes" Remus smiled sadly at the creature. He reached over and gently scratched the bird behind the head. After a while though, he retreated his hand and simply stared at the bird. And Fawkes simply stared right back. But then the creature glanced around Remus and a single tear spilled out of it's right eye.

"I know...I miss those guys around me too" Remus whispered as he reached out and scratched the bird once more.

"He always did like you the best" the unmistakable voice of Albus Dumbledore came from the door.

Remus spun around and faced the older man. Dumbledore, though very old, always gave an impression of energy. He had several feet of long silver hair and beard, half-moon spectacles and an extremely crooked nose. He was often described as the greatest wizard of the age but that wasn't why Remus trusted him so. You couldn't help trusting Albus Dumbledore and as Remus watched him walk closer with a comforting smile on his face, he felt really calm for the first time in a while. "Professor-"

"Remus my boy, I haven't been your professor in 17 years" Dumbledore chuckled as he stepped into his office and headed for his desk "Please, call me Albus."

Once he was seated behind it, Remus turned to full face him "With all due respect sir, why have you called me here?"

Dumbledore took a deep breath "Come Remus, sit" he said gesturing towards the chair in front of his desk "Would you like something to drink? Perhaps a butterbeer?"

"No thank you sir" Remus said as he sat down where he was told to.

"Lemon drop?" Dumbledore offered pushing a small dish of candy towards the younger man.

"Of course sir" Remus said with a smile. He picked up a lemon drop and popped it into his mouth.

"So how have you been Remus? It's been a while since the last time we have spoken" Dumbledore began.

"Things have....been tough Professor- er...I mean Albus" Remus muttered.

"How so?" Dumbledore raised a brow.

"Well...with my condition...it's hard to keep a job..." Remus answered looking down "It takes too many days off...."

"I understand how hard your lycanthropy makes you life. And I also understand you don't have a job at the moment...am I correct?" Dumbledore said.

"Yes sir..." Remus nodded.

"Well then I'd be more than happy to offer you the open spot of Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher...if you are alright with it that is..." Dumbledore offered generously.

"I...seriously?" Remus gawked, dumbfounded "But won't that be a problem, what with my transformations and-"

"Remus, you worry far too much. You forget that you made it seven years here with your transformations during your school years" Dumbledore stated "I am sure that after the past two years, our students would like to have a quality teacher such as yourself. And if I remember correctly Remus, you were exceptionally skilled in your own Defense classes, receiving an O on both your O.W.L's and your N.E.W.T's for the subject."

"Yes sir" Remus answered with a small smile.

"You are fully qualified for the job Remus. Whether you wish to take it up or not however is completely up to you" Dumbledore told his former student.

"I..." Remus was at a loss for words.

"I understand if you do not wish to-" But Dumbledore was cut off as Remus quickly sat up.

"No sir! I-I am honored that you are asking this of me. And I would be more than happy to accept!" Remus shouted a bit louder than he had intended.

"Wonderful, I'll be seeing you first of September then" Dumbledore smiled at his former student "I assume you remember where the Defense room is?"

"How could I not?" Remus chuckled "Sir...if I may ask...how is...Harry?"

"You will see him in time Remus. I know you will. And something tells me he is definitely going to take a liking to you, despite the years that have gone by" Dumbledore assured him.

"Thank you sir...I guess I'll take your leave then" Remus smiled as he began to stand.

"I am glad you accepted this Remus" Dumbledore said "I think it's about time Harry got a first hand account as to how his parents were and not rumors and stories from The Daily Prophet."

Remus nodded "And I think it's about time I got to know him as well."

And with a quick exchange of smiles, Remus was off.

As he strode through the quiet lonely halls again he felt better. Somehow quiet and lonely had turned into calm and peaceful. He couldn't believe his luck. He was actually offered to teach at the place that housed his most precious memories. And on top of that he was finally going to be able to get to know his late best friend's son. He regretted nothing more than not being able to raise the boy himself; the ministry would never allow custody of such a young child go to a werewolf. Tame and responsible as Remus may be, the ministry's prejudice against half bloods was just too strong. And now to be able to meet Harry was such an exciting thought for Remus.

He sighed contently. This was definitely going to be one interesting year.

**HP**

**HP******HP**

**HP**

**So guys, this one is a project for English . I was supposed to re-write a novel from another character's POV and the first thing that came to me was POA and Remus XD You guys how much I love writing stories about Remus so I just couldn't pass up the opportunity.**

**Lol, so I'l be posting up one chapter every day(or two if I'm busy =) and in total it's 8 chapters =]**

**So I hope you enjoyed it so far, and please Review!! =]**


	2. The Dementor

**Alright guys, here's the second chapter for you. Again like I said before there are a whole bunch of missing pieces when it comes to Remus so I decided to use my imagination on that so it's a bit AU there. Otherwise it's all either from the book or the movie. So please, Enjoy!**

Remus Lupin fought very hard not to snicker as he allowed the information he was hearing to sink.

"I see...what happened after Harry blew her up?" he dared to ask the giant standing in front of him.

"What'd ya think happened?The Ministry saw 'er and deflated 'er a'course. Put a strong memory charm on 'er too" Hagrid, the scragely 8ft 6 inch half giant replied "Oh stop tryin' to hold it in Remus. The hag deserved it and we all know it. Harry's growin' mighty fine if I may say so myself. You'd love 'im"

Remus allowed himself to laugh a bit. He knew he would.

He had just arrived at Platform 9 3/4 a few minutes ago with what little baggage he had, ready to head off to his new job. He still couldn't believe he was going to be the Defence teacher at Hogwarts. Not only was he thrilled to be in Hogwarts once more, but also to meet the people that he had left behind all those years ago. And he was definately glad to start with Hagrid.

The train whistled rather loudly, causing Remus to look over his shoulder towards it. He returned his gaze to Hagrid "Well, I better get on" he smiled "I will be sure to stop by for a visit once we arrive there, alright?"

"Course Remus, the hut's always open for ya" Hagrid returned the smile.

So with that Remus turned away and headed towards the nearest entrance to the elegant train, his trunk rattling noisily behind him as he dragged it along. He glanced around the platform, fond memories filling him up as he did. He found a smile creeping onto his face as he remembered right in front of that sign right over there...

_"Be good boys, and make sure to study hard" Adrienne Lupin told the three young men that stood before her._

_"Will do Mrs. Lupin" James Potter nodded._

_"No promises though" Sirius Black laughed "But we'll try" he added._

_Remus Lupin simply chuckled at his mother and his two friends. _

_"And remember, I'm taking you three to the World Cup next month! So be good or I'll sell the tickets off to a Slytherin!" John Lupin grinned at the three. _

_"Not a Slytherin! Anything but that!" Sirius shouted, clutching his chest dramatically. _

_"Merlin's beard Dad, look, you've killed Sirius" Remus, who was a spitting image of his father, cried. _

_James just laughed. _

Oh, how he missed those days....how he missed those moments with those people. Yes those people were only alive in his memories now...

Remus sighed and walked along. He stowed his trunk in the storage are of the train and decided that he would keep his handbag with him . He took a glance around for anyone he else might knowbefore boarding the famous Hogwarts Express. He walked through the familiar corridors of the enormous train. He glanced into a few of the compartments that he passed by, though most of them were empty. He assumed most of the students were still saying their goodbyes to their friends and family. Remus had planned on taking a seat at one of the compartments in the front of the train, however his feet had other ideas. Because when they finally stopped moving, Remus found himself standing in front of a more than familiar compartment.

Compartment M4

The compartment that Remus, James, Sirius and Peter had used every single time they were on the Hogwarts Express beggining from their third year Christmas break. Around the time that they had began calling themselves the Marauders. Sirius had insisted on this compartment in general because the "M" could stand for Marauder and the 4 could stand for the four members of the Marauders. It was brilliant and the other three agreed. So from then on M4 had become their compartment, and if anyone else even tried to use it they would end up personally hexed into oblivion by James and Sirius.

Remus chuckled fondly at the memory of that third year that had not only taken their compartment once, but also badmouthed Sirius right there. Poor kid was strangled before he even reached Hogwarts. Ah good times.

Remus smiled as he slid open the door of the compartment and took the seat closest to the window. He peered out to the hoards of weeping mothers and excited reminded him of his own mother.

_"Aw, Mum come on this is the seventh year you're sending me off to school, you've really got to get a grip" Remus said as he put a comforting and on his mother's shoulder._

_"Don't worry Mrs. Lupin, we'll watch over Remmi here for you" Sirius grinned "That's a promise."_

_"Just like that promise you made to stop shagging every other girl you met and to get your grades up, and to stop hexing first years?" Remus rolled his eyes. _

_"__**I'll **__be there for him. That should help" James joined in._

_"You see, Adrienne, no worries, our son is in the hands of James and Sirius!" John nodded "Oh wait...on second thought..."_

_"Dad!" Remus laughed punching his father lightly in the arm._

_"I am offended!" Sirius cried in the best "offended" expression he could sum up._

_This made even Adrienne grin a little. _

His mother would cry at the beggining of every single term, Remus recalled with a smile. He shifted into a more comfortable position in his seat. He took a sip out of the bottle of firewhiskey that he'd been carrying around for a while now and pulled out a small pocket watch from his robes. It was a dulling golden color, with the word Lupin engraved onto it in neat script. The item had once belonged to Remus's father, John Lupin, but John had given it to him for his 17 birthday when he became officially of age. John had told him that the watch had been passed on from several generations of Lupins, and hope that one day Remus would pass it on to his own children.

Remus smirked at the thought. He was a werewolf...children? Not even an option.

He pushed the thought aside and checked the time.

10:30 am

He sighed. The train wouldn't be leaving the station for almost a half an hour. For a moment Remus considered going back outside to meet up with Hagrid again, but then decided against it. It had been only 2 days since the full moon and he still felt the dull throbbing of his most recent wounds. As if transforming itself wasn't painful enough, he had to deal with the injuries he gave himself during them as well. He was still severely sore. Because ever since his pack(consisting of the animagus forms of James, Sirius and Peter) had left him, the wolf had become alone once more and had to resort to more painful ways of entertaining itself. He decided, a little rest wouldn't kill him at the moment. He placed his bottle of firewhiskey onto the small table that extended from his armrest. He settled in, brought his cloak tighter around himself and slowly closed his eyes for a peaceful sleep.

**HP**

**HP*********HP**

**HP**

Remus was awoken by the sound of three different voices.

"It's a bloody beast I tell ya. No cat looks that evil and depressed!" the first voice complained.

"Crookshanks is a very well trained cat Ron. And besides he has better things to eat than your mangled little rat" the second asserted "Right Harry?" she added.

Wait....did she just say Harry?

Remus's heart suddenly lodged itself into his throat and refused to come down. The first person that came into mind when he heard the name Harry was..Harry Potter. And the first person that came to mind when he heard Harry Potter was James Potter, and then Lily Potter and then Sirius Black and then-

_Quit it Remus! Get a grip! There are tons of boys in London named Harry, alright?!_

But still....he had to be sure. If this was really Harry Potter....Merlin...if this was Harry Potter....

Remus slowly opened his eyes to slits. He didn't nesicarily want to alarm the children, or face an awkward confrontation just yet. He peered around carefully as not to catch the eyes of his cabin mates. The young boys sitting across from him was a rather wreck of a red head. He held a squirming rat in his hands. The rat rang a bell somewhere in the back of Remus's head but he couldn't exactly place why. Seated next to the red head was a blossoming young girl with light brown hair. She held a pudgy, rather unhappy looking golden cat in her arms. She, Remus figured, was the one that had spoken Harry's name.

Finally Remus brought his gaze to the person seated next to him. And upon setting his eyes on the boy, his heart shot into his mouth and he found himself suspended in time.

That messy black hair.

Those round glasses.

That nose.

That mouth.

And heavens...those eyes....

Those eyes....it was upon seeing those piercing green almond shaped eyes that Remus Lupin knew, this was his cub. Little Harry Potter from all those years ago. Merlin's beard he was so big now! He definately wasn't that sweet one year old child he remembered.

Remus forced himself to look at the boy's eyes again. Sweet merciful heavens, those eyes.....it was just like staring at Lily Potter herself again. The boy was a spitting image of James. Everything from the hair to the lips, he was all James...but his eyes where unmistakably his mothers.

Remus's breath cought in his throat as the image of his two friends flashed before him, and a terrible sense of nausea swept over him.

Suddenly, he heard the compartment door slide open.

"Would you children care for anything?" he heard the voice of the food cart witch.

"Yeah, I think I'll take a couple of couldron cakes" Remus was startled to hear James's voice say. But then he realized, it was really Harry that had spoken. Merlin, he even sounded exactly like James!

"D'you think we should wake him up?" the red head said motioning towards Remus "He looks like he could do with some food."

Remus almost chuckled; was it that noticable?

"Er...Professor?" the girl call softly "Excuse me...Professor?"

For a moment Remus thought of actually responding to her call, but then decided against it. If Harry even so much as glanced at him with those green eyes so soon, it would bee too much for his rappidly aging heart to take. Though he was only 34, Remus knew his heart would shatter on the spot if he were to confront his best friend's son so soon. So he remained silent, pretending to be asleep.

"Don't worry dear" he heard the witch say "If he's hungry when he wakes, I'll be up in the front with the driver." And with that the compartment door slid closed. Remus was thankful to the witch for diverting the attention off of him.

"I suppose he _is _asleep" the red head said quietly "I mean-he hasn't died, has he?"

"No, no, he's breathing" the girl answered hurriedly.

Remus was so close to choking up in laughter it almost hurt. He was glad Harry had found such friends. They really could give a laugh(or in his case, severe pains from trying to supress laughter.)

As the urge to crack up began to die out, Remus thought he probably should get a little more sleep before they arrived.

And just when he was about to drift off into a light sleep, the compartment door slid open again. This time it sounded like it had been thrown open, roughly at that.

"Well look who it is" a new voice drawled lazily "Potty and Weasel."

Remus frowned underneath his cloak. Who was this new person? Why was he messing around with Harry and his friends so early? And why on earth did his voice sound so painfully familiar? He listened closely as this new person spoke again:

"I heard your father finally got a hold of some gold Weasley. Did your mother die of shock?"

Did he just say Weasley? As in Arthur and Molly Weasley? Remus remembered the couple very clearly. They were order members as well, and they were 10 years senior to him and the Marauders. And then suddenly it hit Remus, who the red head was; Ronald Weasley. The second youngest child of the Weasleys. Remus had only seen the boy once or twice back before Lily and James were killed. He had heard they Weasleys had an even younger daughter now, whom he hadn't ever met, but was sure he would as the new defence teacher.

Remus suddenly saw Ron shoot up. His eyes burned with rage and he looked like he was going to beat the magic out of whoever it was that was at the door.

Remus knew if someone didn't step in, then Ron _would _do it. And it looked to him like his other two friends weren't going to stop him. So as realisticly as he could, Remus shifted a bit to make it look like he had done so in his sleep.

He felt all eyes turn to him.

"Who's that?" the intruder at the door said taking a step back.

"New teacher" he heard Harry say. The boy suddenly realized, having a professor here, the intruder wouldn't dare do anything stupid. When Harry spoke again, Remus could practically _hear _the grin in his voice "What were you saying Malfoy?"

Malfoy! That was it! Remus's thoughts finally clicked. This had to be Lucius's son! Remus knew that Lucius Malfoy had a son about Harry's age, he just had never seen the boy before. No wonder his voice sounded so familiar. And from the looks of it he had inherited his father's pratty attitude as well. What a shame.

"I'll see you lot at the feast. Potter, Weasley....Mudblood" Remus felt a twinge of anger hit him as he heard the last word. It couldn't have been directed towards Harry or Ron; they were both pure or half-blood. So it must have been directed towards the girl. It reminded Remus painfully of Lily, who was called a mudblood by Slytherin member Severus Snape back in their school days.

Remus heard the sound of Ron sitting back down "That loathsome troll. Merlin, how can someone be so...so....argh?! Oh and if he ever makes fun of Hermione or my family ever again I'm going to get a hold of that blo-"  
"Ron!" Hermione, Remus now knew the girl to be, hissed. He got the feeling she had stopped him from cursing in front of a teacher like that. Whether he was "asleep" or not.

Remus heard the rain pound against the window beside him. When had it started to rain? He guessed he had probably slept through that....

Another half an hour or so went by before Remus suddenly felt the train begin to slow down. Wait....that wasn't right...they weren't there yet were they? No, they couldn't have possibly arrived so soon. So why were they slowing down?

And as if she had read his mind, Hermione spoke "We can't be there yet..."

"So why're we stopping?" Ron asked.

They slowed until they were barely even moving. The pounding rain and wind against the train sounding louder than ever. Remus heard the compartment door slide open and he figured one of the trio had decided to see what was going on. The train suddenly came to a complete halt with a jolt. Remus heard a thud next to him and assumed that it was Harry that had opened the door and had fallen back into his seat because of the sudden movement.

And then, out of no where, the lights went out, plunging them into total darkness.

"What's going on?" Ron's voice came.

"Ouch!" Hermione gasped "Ron, that was my foot!"

"D'you think we've broken down?" Harry asked.

"Dunno..." Ron answered. From the what little his line of vision allowed, Remus saw Ron wiping a patch of fog off the window and peering out.

"There's something moving out there..." Ron whispered "I think someone's coming aboard..."

Something in the terrified tone of the boy told Remus...that something was wrong. Very wrong. The train gave another terrifying jolt. And this time Remus considered getting up to see what was wrong. But then again if it _was _only a break down then it would have been in vein.

Suddenly Remus felt very cold. He looked up slowly and saw his bottle of firewhiskey freezing up in the span of a single second. He took a breath and it apeared as a smal puff of smoke in front of him as he exhaled. Why was it so cold? The train shook once more, a lot more violently this time.

"Bloody hell, what's happening ?!" Ron yelled. But before anyone could answer, the compartment door slid open once more. Remus figured Harry was just checking again. But then suddenly, the cat hissed furiously and something hit him....something cold. Something in the air made him feel terrible inside...like all the happiness was being sapped from his life.

And then it clicked. All the pieces fell together in Remus's mind and suddenly he realized what was happening.

Dementors.

There were dementors on board searching for Sirius Black. It all made sense now. And then something else hit him. If that was a dementor that had opened the door to their compartment, then it would obviously go for the one of the lot that held the most amount of unhappy memories. And that person would be Harry....by a long shot. This realization hit Remus like a hex to the chest. The dementor was going to go for Harry...the dementor was going to give it "The Kiss."

Remus almost immediately shot up, his cloak tossed carelessly over his shoulders. His breath cought in his throat as he saw the dementor sucking in it's breath, tearing Harry's soul from him in the process. But he did not allow that to stop him. He thrust his wand forward and brought his Patrunus charm memory forward. The Patronus charm involved using a powerful memory to counteract the demenor's unhappy ones. So Remus thought back to the one memory he used every single time, and allowed it to fill him up...

_"Wow...you're actually a...a werewolf!" 12 year old Peter Pettigrew gasped. _

_Remus hung his head very low "Yeah..." he said with a choked up sob. He sat on the bed as his three friends stood towering over him "I s'posse youre gonna go on your way now...don't wanna get cought hanging out with a monster like me do you now?"_

_But instead of recieving a reply Remus felt a sharp pain in his cheek as Sirius's hand connected with it. _

_Remus looked up slowly at his friend, wondering how much longer he could hold the tears back. This was it, they were going to leave him for sure. _

_"Remus Lupin, if you ever talk like that again I won't leave it at that. I'll personally hex you into oblivion" Sirius growled._

_"How could you event think that we'd leave you?! After all we've been through!" James added_

_"So, you turn into an overgrown puppy once a month. Whoop de doo" Sirius rolled his eyes "You're still the utmost caring and brilliant guy alive other than that one day! It doesn't change who you are!"_

_"I mean you obviously haven't eaten us yet so you even your wolf has morals!" Peter nodded._

_Silence_

_Remus heard James crouch down to his height "Listen Rem, we don't care about what you are...only who you are. And to us, the answer to who you are will always be...our brother."_

_The words made Remus feel so good inside. He felt a new hope erupt inside of him. He felt hapiness beyond any words' description. His friends weren't going to leave him! They didn't care what he was! What more could he have possibly asked for?!_

_In the moment of emotion, Remus launched his friend into a hug and began to cry tears of joy into his shoulder. James just chuckled gently. He heard Sirius laugh before he and Peter joined the hug as well. _

_And it was with that group hug that the boys truly became brothers in all but blood. It was then that they became The Marauders. _

Remus allowed himself to feel the very same happiness he had felt that day, and then, loudly and clearly spoke the incantation in his mind:

_Expecto Patronum!_

A silver light erupted from the tip of his wand and quickly cut the dementor off from Harry. Remus forced the creature out of the compartment. He saw Harry pass out from the corner of his eyes and made a small prayer that he was alright.

Once the dementor was out of the compartment, Remus forced it back through the corridor to the front of the train. The silver blast of light shielding him the entire time. He spotted the driver standing outisde his cabin at the front of the train.

"Open the front doors!" Remus growled "We're lucky there's only one."

The driver did as he was told. He ducked back into his cabin, and within a few second, the front doors swept open. Stinging cold wind rushed into the train, sending Remus's hair and robes fluttering all over the place. He narrowed his eyes to prevent the wind from stabbing at it. He watched as the dementor attempted to charge through his Patronus. And he knew eventually it would. So with one last burst from his memory, Remus greatly expanded the size of his shield and gave the dementor one last shove off the train. He allowed his patronus to die out, and just as he was about to turn and order the driver to close the doors before it came back in, the driver already did it.

Remus saw the dementor rushing back towards him but the doors snapped into place and cut it off.

"Come on, come on, let's move!" Remus ordered, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to straighten it somewhat. The driver complied and started up the train once more.

"Good" Remus said before he turned and headed back to his compartment. He noticed the lights flicker back on and took long powerful strides, as he was anxious to see whether Harry was alright or not. Once he approached the doors, he immediately threw them aside with a bit more force than he had intended. It had made Hermione and Ron jump a bit. They turned to look at him from the floor of the compartment. They were both crouched at Harry's side, who seemed to have fallen off his seat.

"Professor" Hermione gasped "Harry...he just got a really glazed over look on his face a-and then he fainted!" Remus could tell from her voice that she cared very deeply for Harry. Ron said nothing but wore the same expression as her.

"Alright, let's see what we've got here" Remus said as he crouched as well. He scooped his best friend's son into his arms carefully and laid the boy on one of the seats as gently as he could.

He then sighed as he collapsed onto the seat behind himself. Well that was rather tiring.

Ron and Hermione brought themselves to sit up next to their new professor. "Is he going to be alright?" Ron asked, not taking his eyes off his best friend.

"He should be fine..." Remus muttered. He turned to Hermione "I'm sorry, what is your name?" he asked her, despite already knowing her name. Remus got the impression she wouldn't like it very much if she knew he was concious the whole time that he was.

"Hermione Granger, sir" she answered.

"And you?" Remus turned to Ron.

"Ron Weasley, sir" Ron said.

"And I am Remus Lupin, your new defence teacher" Remus offered a kind smile.

"We know" Ron shrugged.

"You know?" Remus raised a brow.

"Saw it on your suitcase" Ron answered. At this Hermione glared at him. Remus's eyes quickly shifted to his small handbag that was stowed on one of the overhead shelves. Then back to Ron.

"And we sort of knew you were our new defence teacher too" Ron added.

But before Remus could ask and Ron could finish, Hermione spoke up "Our staff at Hogwarts is a very solid one. A staff member changes every fifty years or so...except for our defence teacher of course. So now every time we see someone we don't recognize we just sort of assume that person as our new defence teacher."

Remus raised his brows in amusement, he remembered having a different defence teacher every other year as well.

"It's a different one every year. Our first year it was...well I'm sure you already heard the story with that one" Ron rolled his eyes "And our second year it was that nutter Gilderoy Lockhart. Lunatic, that man" he said with an exasperated sigh.

Remus chuckled. He had heard about Quirell and the nasty incident with Voldemort...And of course who hadn't heard about Lockhart?

"But you don't look like you have You-Know-Who strapped to the back of your head and you don't look much like an egoistic nutjob either, so we should be safe this year" Ron nodded.

This made Remus laugh "Well, I certainly hope so. Now, Hermione, why don't you see if Harry responds to a call."

Hermione nodded and crouched down in front of Harry "Harry...Harry are you alright?"

Hermione, Remus and Ron all looked a bit more relieved when Harry's vibrant green eyes fluttered open. He looked around for a moment in a very dazed manner, before he spotted the cat sitting ahead of picked the glasses off the floor and handed them to him.

"Thanks" Harry whispered as he pushed himself to sit up.

"Here eat this, it'll help" Remus said as he pulled out a chocolate bar from his robes and held out a piece to Harry. He broke off a piece for Hermione and Ron as well, then one for himself. Ah chocolate, the only thing that could subside the effects of a dementor encounter. Remus had learned that one from his father, who was Head Auror for a long time and had dealt with dementors more times than he could count. Harry though, just looked at it skeptically.

"It's alright, it's chocolate" Remus said, avoiding those green eyes.

Harry, who was looking around like he was very disoriented, took the chocolate and sat up. He glanced around at his friends, and then at Remus.

It was then, at that moment that Harry's piercing green eyes met Remus's calm brown, that the werewolf felt a part of himself melt inside. He saw James, he saw Lily, but most of all he saw the prize that they had left behind. This beautiful, blessed child. And Remus felt such a rush of affection for the boy, that he just had to smile.

Harry, though, still as disgruntled as he was, looked over to the place where the dementor had been mere minutes ago. Remus followed his gaze.

"W-what was that thing?" Harry muttered.

"It was a dementor, one of the guards of Azkaban. It's gone now. It was searching the train for Sirius Black" Remus answered, forcing himself to speak Black's name as casually as possible "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to have a word with the driver" he said setting the bar of chocolate next to Harry. He stood up and strode out of the compartment.

Remus headed back up to the front of the train to the driver's cabin. He kocked softly on the open door of the cabin.

The driver turned around and spotted Remus "Oh it's just you" he said turning back to his work "I wanted to thank you for what you did earlier. That was very heroic of you...they should have more wizards like you in the ministry and auror service. Maybe then we'd get somewhere in this twisted political world. What may I ask is your name sir?"

"I am Remus Lupin. And thank you...that is quite the compliment" Remus smiled, he knew what the man said was right. He would make an excellent auror, just one problem. More specifically, his, as James would like to call it "furry little problem."

"Say, how'd that dementor get in anyway?" he asked.

"The back. The luggage cart doors weren't closed all the way. It found it's way in through there" the driver answered "We got someone to fix that already."

"That's good" Remus nodded "The thing went straight for Harry Potter you know. The boy sat in the same compartment as me, thank merlin. We should see to it that this doesn't happen again. The dememntor affects him much more than it does you and I."

"I can imagine" the driver replied "I am deeply sorry. Is he alright now though?"

"Yes, he's fine. A bit shaken up, but he'll live" Remus replied.

"That's good. I heard things have been tough for that boy. What with his muggle guardians and dealing with the entire boy-who-lived situation. I feel bad for him" the driver responded "No one really bothers to look past that at who the kid really is. Heard he's got a bit of an issue with the Malfoys too after his second year. And I'm sure you know the Malfoys get what the Malfoys want so things don't look to good for ."

Remus allowed the information to sink. Was Harry really that unhappy? Remus was starting to think he should have turned into the wolf all those years ago, eaten the entire ministry and just adopted Harry right then and there. Whether they thought he was dangerous or not.

"I've gotten to know him a bit. Nice boy. I think I'll go back and see how he's doing then" Remus said, starting to back away from the door.

"You go on and do that. It was nice meeting you " the driver said with a smile.

"And you" Remus replied before he headed back to his compartment once more. When he walked in, he found the three students in silence. All three still had their chocolate in their hands. Uneaten.

Remus smiled "I haven't poisoned that chocolate you know..."

Harry looked down at the sweet that he had seemingly forgotten was in his hand. He took a bite, and judging by the look on his face, Remus would say he enjoyed it very much.

"We'll be at Hogwarts in about 10 minutes" Remus informed them. He then narrowed his eyes at Harry "Are you alright Harry?" He quickly realized that Harry had never told him his name, hance making it a bit awkward for him to call him.

"'m fine" Harry muttered, a bit embarassed.

The remainder of the journey went in mostly silence. and before any of them knew it, they were at Hogsmeade station. They had stayed together until they reached the coaches. This was where Remus parted with the children to climb onto the staff coach. It saddened him to leave Harry so soon, but he knew he would see the boy again very soon. And then he was determined to make up for all those years of lost time.

**HP**

**HP**********HP**

**HP**

**So that was the second chapter for you guys. The next chapter will be up either tomorrow or the day after, depending on how much time I have =]**

**I noticed a lot of people put this on their alert list and only one of them reviewed. And I know I myself hate it when writers make you review for updates, so I'm not going to do that but I really would appreciate it if you guys took the time to review. Thanks a million! =]**


	3. The Feast

**Alright then, here is the third chapter. This one mainly surrounds the feast and Remus's thoughts about returning to Hogwarts =] Once again, AU to fill in the blanks. So Enjoy!!**

Through the infernal downpour of rain, Remus approached one of the stagecoaches up in front of the line of the many of it's kind. Seeing nothing was in front of them, he assumed they were going to be pulled by thestrals. Remus, as much pain as he had suffered in his years, was fortunate enough to have never actually seen someone die before his eyes. Therefore thestrals were completely invisible to him.

He climbed into the first empty coach that he found and cast a quick spell on himself to dry off. He noted, as he climbed into it, that the coach smelled faintly of mold and straw. He sat down onto the lumpy seat and stared out into the distance to analyze his surroundings.

The first thing he saw was Hagrid towering above a whole lot of 1st years, leading them towards their traditional boat ride. Remus chuckled to himself upon seeing this, as he remembered his own boat ride. He then looked behind him and saw the rest of the students climbing into the student coaches with all their friends.

"Remus?" A voice snapped the young man out of his thoughts. He turned towards the door only to see Minerva McGonagall standing in front of the coach.

At first Remus's eyes just widened and his voice died out. He couldn't believe he was staring into the eyes of his once Transfiguration teacher. She looked just the same as she had 17 years ago; her hair was was in a tight bun and her sharp eyes were framed with square spectacles. She had coddled and looked after him back in his days as a student when he had his transformations. To make things short she was practically his mother in school.

"Minnie!" he managed to stutter out. And barely managed to keep a straight face. Minnie was the nickname that he, James and Sirius had given her back in their 3rd year. It was one that used to annoy her to no end, making the boys call her by that name all the more.

She visibly twitched "You haven't changed a bit have you?" she said trying to suppress a grin "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all Professor, please" Remus said hurriedly as he gestured towards the seat across from him.

She stepped in and out of the rain as she gladly took the seat "No need to call me Professor Remus. We are colleagues now, you may call me Minerva."

"Or Minnie" Remus coughed.

"Or Minnie" she sighed playfully. Remus laughed.

They spent the rest of the journey catching up, talking of old times and the new ones to come until finally they approached the masterpiece called Hogwarts.

Minerva and Remus both stepped out of the carriage when a voice suddenly caught the latter's attention.

"Shove off, Malfoy!" Remus spun around and saw, stepping out from the coach behind him was Hermione. In front of her stood Harry and Ron, the red head being the one that had spoken.

"Did you faint as well Weasley?" the swarmy voice of Draco Malfoy made Remus frown. He watched as the young Malfoy clad in all back stepped a bit too close to Ron "Did the scary old dementor frighten you Weasley?"

"Is there a problem?" Remus called out in the calmest voice he could sum up. Malfoy jerked back to look at him, then gave him an insolent smirk "Oh, no-er-_Professor_..." he said as he took off.

The trio turned to him with smiles before Minerva stepped up "Potter, Granger, if I may have a word with both of you" the as if having a second thought, she added "There's no need to be worried-I just want a word in my office.....move along there Weasley."

Ron nodded and said a quick goodbye to his friends before he left towards the school. Harry and Hermione on the other hand followed as Minerva led them away; smiling up at Remus as they walked past him.

"Er-Remus, you might want to meet up with Hagrid and he'll show you to your seat at the staff table in the great hall" Minerva said to him before she left.

Remus nodded and walked away to find a certain hairy giant.

**HP**

**HP*********HP**

**HP**

"You must be thrilled, eh?" Hagrid said as he led the much smaller Remus through the Great Hall.

"Well it is a pleasure to be back in Hogwarts, I can tell you that" Remus replied. He looked around the flocked hall to all the different students and subconsciously began searching for none other than the golden trio. But as he scanned the Gryffindor table, he only found Ron. The other two were no where to be seen.

For a moment Remus considered asking Ron where his friends were, but then decided against it.

He continued to follow Hagrid, who quickly led him to his seat at the staff table. Remus frowned a bit as he realized it was right next to the place of Severus Snape, the potions professor and his long time. Well sort of.

Remus didn't really have anything against him but back in their school days James and Sirius had a thing with picking on Snape, and Remus being both James and Sirius's best friend, earned Snape's hate by default.

Remus was a bit relieved when Snape didn't even turn to look at him when he sat down.

As soon as everyone was seated, the sorting of the first years began. The sorting hat was brought out and like every year, it began to sing:

_Oh you may not think me pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.  
You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.  
There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be._

__

You might belong in Gryffindor  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
Set Griffindors apart;  
You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
if you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;  
Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folks use any means  
To achieve their ends.

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap! _

Remus smiled to himself. Ah, sorting, the most terrifying time of a first year's life. Remus remembered expecting to be sorted into Ravenclaw, being the bookworm that he was. It came as a bit of a surprise when he was put in Gryffindor. But thinking back he really wouldn't have had it any other way. After all, if it wasn't for Gryffindor he wouldn't have know Sirius or James.....or Peter.

Remus turned his attention back to the sorting and watched as the nervous first years stepped forward to the sorting hat.

He watched children of all different races and heights get sorted, some in Gryffindor, others in Slytherin, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. And after the longest time, the last child darted off to his house and the school choir stepped up to the front of the hall.

Each person held a large gruesome looking toad in their hands and with a flick from the wand of Professor Filtwik they began:

_Double, double, toil and trouble  
Fire burn and cauldron bubble  
Double, double, toil and trouble  
Something wicked this way comes._

__

Eye of newt and toe of frog,  
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,  
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,  
Lizard's leg and owlet's wing.

Double, double, toil and trouble  
Fire burn and cauldron bubble  
Double, double, toil and trouble  
Something wicked this way comes.

In the cauldron boil and bake,  
Fillet of a fenny snake,  
Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,  
Witches' mummy, maw and gulf.

Double, double, toil and trouble  
Fire burn and cauldron bubble

Double, double, toil and trouble  
Fire burn and cauldron bubble  
Double, double, toil and trouble  
Fire burn and cauldron bubble

_Something wicked this way comes!_

The toads gave a mighty ribbit and an applause rose for the choir. They neatly stepped aside, revealing a podium behind them, which none other than Albus Dumbledore approached.

It was at this point that Remus looked out into the Gryffindor table(past all the crowded first years) and spotted Harry and Hermione along with Ron. He vaguely wondered when they had arrived, but his thoughts were cut short as Dumbeldore began to speak:

"Welcome!" he beamed, the candlelight shimmering on his beard "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast..."

Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued "As you will all be aware after the search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is the presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business" he paused briefly "They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds, and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave the school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises-or even Invisibility cloaks" he added blandly. Remus noticed Harry, Ron and Hermione glance at one another. He barely suppressed a laugh; so Dumbledore had given Harry James's old cloak eh? Remus smiled remembering the millions of times that he, James, Sirius and Peter had used that invisibility cloak without being caught a single time. Ah, good times.

But Remus returned his attention to the headmaster as he continued, "It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects , and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors" Dumbledore paused again; he looked very seriously around the hall, and nobody moved or made a sound.

"On a happier note," he continued "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was some scattered applause as Remus stood and took a rather awkward bow. Dumbledore continued as he took his seat once more.

"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore spoke "Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than our own Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties."

There was a rather loud applause at this(in which Remus took part, as Hagrid was one of his favorite people during his time as a student) which was tumultuous at the Gryffindor table in particular. Remus chuckled as Mcgonagall nudged the giant on the side and made him stand to take a bow. As Hagrid sat down, Dumbledore spoke again:

"Well. I think that is all of importance. Let the feast begin!"

The golden plates and goblets before everyone suddenly filled with food and drinks. Remus, suddenly ravenous, helped himself and began to eat.

It was a delicious feast; the hall echoed with talk, laughter, and the clatter of knives and forks.

But at long last when the last morsel of pumpkin tart had melted from the golden platters, Dumbledore gave word that it was time for them all to go to bed.

Dumbeldore had then stepped aside to Remus and told the younger that he would personally show him where he would be staying, as well as his curriculum. Remus simply smiled broadly and followed.

And at the end of the day, when Remus collapsed onto the oh so familiar four poster beds that were tradition in Hogwarts, looking around, felt he was home at last.

**HP**

**HP*********HP**

**HP**

**Well, there you go. The last part was taken almost completely from the book, replacing Harry, with Remus =] Because I'm sure they both had the same feelings about being back at Hogwarts. **

**Once again I am so grateful for those of you that are reading this and have put an alert on it. I also really appreciate your reviews, and I hope you continue to give me feedback on how this is =] **


	4. The Boggart In The Wardrobe

**Oh crap, I just realized I haven't updated in like...4 days. Sorry guys, it just kind of slipped my mind. Anywho, here's the next one, Enjoy!**

Remus was excited beyond belief when the day came that he would teach his first class. And it only made him more excited when Dumbledore informed him that the golden trio was in his very first class.

Though before he went off to his class, Poppy insisted that he get his previous transformation wounds checked up. Remus protested that he had his transformation almost a week ago, and that he was fine, but Poppy simply told him to hush up and allow and old woman to tend to her very much missed werewolf patient. And who could say no to that?

So Remus stayed back to get himself checked up....and lost track of time. Which would probably explain why he was flying through the halls at the present moment.

And almost 5 minutes after class had officially begun, Remus arrived to the Defense Room where all his students were already present, books, quills and parchment displayed in front of them. The sound of chatter died out as he entered the room. Remus felt a hint of pride for his well organized students. Though the lesson he had in mind wouldn't involve books or quills he was still proud that they prepared themselves for him. He smiled as he strode to his desk in the front of the room.

"Good afternoon" he said placing his briefcase on his desk "Would you please put all your books back in your bags. Today's will be a practical lesson. You will need only your wands."

Remus chuckled as the class exchanged curious glances, apparently they had never seen the face of a practical defense lesson. "Right then" he said as the last few students tucked their belongings into their bags "If you'd follow me."

The students looked puzzled, but interested as they got on their feet and followed the defense teacher out of the classroom. Remus lead them along the deserted corridor and around the corner and upon turning the first thing they saw was Peeves the Poltergeist. Peeves was a long gone ghost from so many years ago that even Dumbledore remembered seeing him during his years as a student. And there was only one thing that Peeves resided in the halls to do. And that was to annoy the magic out of anyone who crossed his path.

At the moment Peeves was floating upside down in midair, stuffing the nearest keyhole with chewing gum. He did not look up until Remus and his students were about two feet away; then he wiggled his curly toed feet and broke into song.

"Loony, loopy, Lupin" he sang "Loony, loopy, Lupin, loony, loopy, Lupin-"

And as rude as Peeves was, he normally tended to show some kind of respect for teachers. The students, a bit taken back at his disrespect for Remus, turned to their professor to see his reaction; to their surprise he was still smiling.

"I'd take that gum out of the keyhole if I were you, Peeves" Remus said pleasantly "Mr. Filch won't be able to get his brooms."

Peeves payed no attention to Remus's words and blew a loud, wet raspberry.

Remus gave a small sigh as he realized, maybe his students didn't have to be the only ones to do something practical in this class. He drew his wand "This is a very useful little spell" _That my best mates and I invented during our time as mischievous little third years such as yourselves _"Please watch closely."

Remus raised the wand to shoulder height and said as clearly as he could _"Waddiwasi!" _and pointed it at Peeves. And then, with the force of a bullet, the wad of chewing gum shot out of the keyhole and straight down Peeves's left nostril; he whirled upright and zoomed away, cursing.

"Cool, sir!" Dean Thomas said in amazement.

"Thank you, Dean" Remus smiled a bit mischievously as he placed his wand back at it's holster "Shall we proceed?" The class nodded furiously and Remus did not hesitate to lead them along. He noticed the look of increased respect that his students where giving him the entire way and decided he had made a good enough first impression.

With that thought in mind, he led them down a second corridor and stopped right outside the staffroom door.

"In you go" Remus said as he opened it and stood back.

The students poured into the room, observing the place that they had never been allowed to before. The staffroom, a long, paneled room full of old, mismatched chairs, was empty all except for one teacher. Professor Snape sat in a low armchair and looked around as the class filed in. Remus noticed a rather nasty sneer playing around on his mouth. Nevertheless he stepped into the room and made to close the door behind him, but stopped when Snape said "Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this."

He then got to his feet and strode past the class in one brisk movement. At the doorway he abruptly turned on his heel and said "Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom."

Longbottom? Remus furrowed his brows and looked to the boy Snape was glaring at. And then it hit him, Neville Longbottom! Son of Alice and Frank Longbottom! Good Gryffindor the boy was a spitting image of his father! Remus smiled, he always was good friends with the Longbottoms...until they where...tortured into insanity that is...

"I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Granger is hissing instructions in his ear" Snape finished. Remus frowned. Now why would Snape say that? He was sure Frank and Alice's kid would be a good one. Of course Snape was only implying that he was stupid by books, but Remus was sure Neville was a nice boy. He looked over to the boy and saw him turn scarlet. He then looked at Harry and saw _him _glaring at Snape.

Remus raised a brow "I was hoping that Neville would assist me with the first stage of the operation" he said making the sudden decision to help the boy out "and I am sure he will perform it admirably." Remus noticed Neville's face go(if possible) even redder.

He returned his gaze to his colleague and saw Snape curl his lip before quickly exiting, shutting the door with a snap.

"Now then" Remus said as he beckoned the class towards the back of the room, where there was nothing but an old wardrobe. As Remus went and stood next to it, the wardrobe gave a sudden wobble, banging off the wall. "Nothing to worry about" Remus assured as a few people jumped backward in alarm. "Theres a boggart in there" he explained.

He noticed Neville give him a look of pure terror and Seamus eye the knob of the wardrobe carefully.

"Boggarts like dark enclosed spaces" Remus said "Wardrobes, cupboards, under sinks, the gap beneath beds..." he took a look around "I've even met one before that had lodged itself into a grandfather clock. _This _one moved in yesterday afternoon and I asked Professor Dumbledore if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice."

"So the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a boggart?" Remus smiled as Hermione's hand immediately went up.

"It's a shape-shifter" she said as Remus nodded towards her "It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us the most."

"Couldn't have put it better myself" Remus said, causing Hermione to glow "So the boggart sitting inside the wardrobe has not assumed a form yet. He does not know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. No one knows what a boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each one of us fears."

"This means" Remus said ignoring Neville's sudden sputter of terror "that we have one huge advantage over the boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Harry?" he said intentionally making an excuse to talk to and look at the boy clearly. He saw Harry struggle a bit with the question before he answered, "Er-because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape to be?"

"Precisely" Remus said, beaming at his best friend's boy "It is always best to have company when facing a boggart. He becomes confused. Which chould he become, a headless corpse or a man-eating slug? I once saw a boggart that made the very mistake-tried to frighten two people at once and turned himself into half a slug" _and half a werewolf..._"Not remotely frightening."

The class giggled a bit at their professor's words

"The charm that repels a boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind" Remus continued "You see, the thing that really finishes a boggart is _laughter. _What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find truly amusing."

"We will practice the charm without wands first. After me please..._Riddikulus!"_

_"Riddikulus!" _the class said in unison.

"Good" Remus smiled "Very good, but that was only the easy part I'm afraid. You see the word alone is not enough. And this is where you come in Neville." He chuckled as the wardrobe shook again, but not nearly as much as Neville, who walked forward as though he were heading for the gallows.

"Right, Neville" Remus said as the boy finally approached him "First thing's first: what would you say is the thing that frightens you the most in the world?"

Neville's lips moved but no noise came out.

"Didn't catch that Neville, sorry" Remus said cheerfully.

Neville looked around wildly, as though begging someone to help him, then said in barely more than a whisper "Professor Snape."

Remus joined the rest of the class in having a good laugh. Even Neville grinned a bit.

"Professor Snape" Remus chuckled thoughtfully "Scares them all...now Neville, I believe you live with your grandmother?"

"Er-yes" Neville said nervously, though more relaxed than before "But I don't want that boggart to turn into her either."

"No, no, you misunderstand me" Remus shook his head smiling "What kind of clothing does your grandmother usually wear?"

"She carries a red handbag" Neville began, but Remus cut her off "No, we don't need to hear it, as long as you see it, we'll see it. Now, I want you to picture her clothes-just her clothes, very clearly in your mind."

Neville simply nodded.

"Alright then, here's what I want you to do" Remus said as he stepped next to Neville and leaned close to his ear. He quickly whispered the instructions "When I let the boggart out, I want you to picture Proffesor Snape in your grandmother's clothes." He spoke very low so the only ones that could hear were himself and Neville.

The boy laughed a bit at his instructions.

"Can you do that for me?" Remus smiled.

Neville nodded with some enthusiasm.

"Good" Remus said standing next to Neville. He drew his wand "Wand at the ready" he instructed.

Neville carefully drew his wand.

"One, two, three" Remus said slowly before flicking his wand. The wardrobe knob turned with a click and very eerily creaked open. And out stepped-Professor Snape, eyes flashing at Neville.

"Think Neville, think" Remus whispered coming up behind the boy. Snape began to advance closer, and closer until-

_"Riddikulus!"_ Neville cried, pointing his wand at Snape.

There was a crack. Snape stumbled backwards and suddenly his normal black attire sprouted into a long lace-trimmed dress, a towering hat topped with a moth-eaten vulture, and he was swinging a huge crimson handbag.

There was a roar of laughter; the boggart paused, confused.

"Wonderful, Neville, wonderful! Incredible, ok to the back Neville" Remus praised, he then turned to face the class "Everyone form a line!" The students rushed to do as they were told, and as they did Remus walked over to the phonograph on a nearby table. He put on a catchy jazz rock track and turned back to his students, who were pushing and shoving to form a single file line.

In the end though it was Ron who ended up in the front of the line. He looked terrified beyond words' description as he stepped forward to face the severely confused form of Snape.

And upon spotting Ron, Snape quickly twisted and turned to an enormous spider. Ron whimpered pathetically as he drew his wand and stepped back. The spider snipped it's pincers and began to walk towards Ron.

"Wand at the ready Ron, wand at the ready!" Remus advised as he leaned against the table that the phonograph was on.

"_Riddikulus_!" Ron cried just as the spider was about to grab him. Roller skates suddenly appeared beneath the creature's feet, and it stumbled this way and that, trying to stand.

Remus bent over in laughter "See, wonderful, marvelous, excellent, very very good Ron. Parvati, next!" He shouted as he reached over and grabbed an apple from a nearby bowl. He took a large bite out of it and grinned at Parvati.

She stepped up to face the enormous snake that appeared before her. After her Seamus, then Dean and so forth. More than half the class had gone by before Remus cried "Come on then! Next!" He didn't even bother to see who was next in line, admittedly he was having just as much fun as his students.

But suddenly, as he looked up he spotted, standing in front of the boggart was...Harry.

Remus's heart immediately leapt to his throat. There was no doubt in his mind that Harry would immediately think of Voldemort. And to have Voldemort appear in the middle of his classroom....well not only would it have a heart stopping effect on Harry, but also the rest of the students.

But before Remus could do anything, the boggart twisted into....a dementor? Remus had to admit he did not see that coming, but as the dementor began to approach Harry, he realized he couldn't let it reach the boy.

So without a second thought, Remus shot forward and stepped in front of Harry.

The dementor spun into a silvery-white orb. It hung in the air in front of Remus, who was filled up with relief that he had reached Harry before the boggart-dementor. His relief caused his word of "_Riddikulus_" to come out almost lazily.

There was a crack and Remus stepped aside, deciding that he couldn't allow the class to know something had gone wrong "Forward, Neville, finish him off!"

Neville stepped forward with a look of determination, as the boggart turned back into Snape. And with Neville's cry of _Riddikulus _sprouted his dress once more. Neville stepped out and let out a great big "Ha!" and laughed straight at the boggart. It then looked around very stunned before it exploded, burst into a thousand tiny wisps of smoke, and was gone.

"Excellent!" Remus cried, trying to keep his voice as enthusiastic as possible. His class broke into applause.

"Excellent, Neville, well done everyone" he smiled a bit "Now, let's see, five points to Gryffindor for every person that tackled the boggart-ten for Neville because he did it twice...and five each to Hermione and Harry."

"But..I...I didn't do anything" Harry said, a bit dazed.

"You and Hermione answered my questions correctly at the beginning of the class, Harry" Remus said lightly. He tried very hard to look Harry in the(oh so familiar) piercing green eyes and pretend nothing happened. "Very well everyone, excellent lesson, there is no homework today so go on off to your next class now" he spoke to the entire room.

Every single person's face broke out in smiles at the sound of that. Except Harry's.

Remus frowned as he saw the look on the boy's face. He did want to talk to Harry, and this might serve as a good chance. But as Remus started towards him, Harry had already joined along with his friends in exiting the room.

**HP**

**HP**********HP**

**HP**

**There you go guys, the next one. Hope you liked it and please review! =]**


	5. The Talk

**Ok, here's another one for all of you. Once again a bit AU, and I loved the book version of this scene so much that I sort of fused them together =] Hope it came out alright. Enjoy!**

Remus was rather pleased with how his defense classes were going.

He had heard from the other teachers that both he and his classes were a favorite amongst the students. He did his best to keep his lessons just as interesting as the first. After boggarts, he had studied Red Caps, nasty little goblin like creatures that lurked wherever there was bloodshed. From redcaps they moved on to kappas, creepy little water-dwellers that looked like scaly monkeys, with webbed hands.

And he had to say, his Gryffindor class was his favorite. His Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and even his Slytherin students(set aside Malfoy and his gang) were excellent and hardworking but something about his Gyffindors made him as a teacher feel good to teach them. And made him as a human being, at peace when he was around them. He had a sort of special bond with them. Everyone in that class was so enthusiastic, and just the grin that would be on each of their faces when they walked into the defense room practically made Remus's day. And in return he made lessons as enjoyable as he possibly could. He noticed that his students(other houses included) particularly loved hands on work so most of his classes turned into practical lessons, aside from a set few where they took exams. And professors would approach him after his exams asking him how he had gotten the students to score so high on practically even single one.

So all in all things were good for Remus.

Except he did notice Snape's glaring at him become a bit more constant, if not a bit more violent as well. After all, news of the boggart lesson and Snape in Neville's grandmother's attire had spread fast, and who better to blame for it than the man that he already hated so much? Remus tried his hardest to either steer clear of Snape or be his nicest when he did run into him. Personally he had nothing against him, but again, being the best friend of James and Sirius and the fact that neither of them where around to blame, it all fell on Remus by default. And he really did want to set things straight, but the way things were going, it didn't look so good. Still Remus tried to be pleasant around Snape(or as pleasant as one could get around someone like him.) After all, Snape was the one that would be brewing the wolfsbane potion for him this year.

Remus was so grateful to Dumbledore who had suggested Snape should brew it for him. Because even though there was a good chance Snape would try to poison Remus with something(well it seemed very likely to him), Snape was also a master potioner. And he was the only one that could make it perfectly.

Plus Remus knew he couldn't afford to take an imperfect wolfsbane. It was he potion that allowed him to keep his human mind while he was a werewolf, and if that went wrong he could end up as even more the monster. And seeing he was on Hogwarts grounds, that would _not _end nicely.

Remus, who was walking back to his office over the bridge that connected the east and west Hogwarts buildings, was completely engrossed in thinking about all this, and was rudely torn out of his thoughts when he bumped into someone, causing both of them to become very startled.

Remus looked up so quickly that it almost hurt, and apparently by the look on the other's face, he had done the same. "Harry?" Remus raised a brow in confusion "What are you doing here? Where are Ron and Hermione?" he added noting the distant look on the boy's face.

"Hogsmeade" Harry answered in a would-be casual voice.

"Ah" Remus nodded, he figured Harry's uncle and aunt hadn't bothered with it "You look very down about it" he stated.

Harry simply shrugged "Not really..." he walked over to the edge of the bridge. It was more of a corridor than a bridge really, except that it was outdoors. It had a bordering wall and above the bordering walls were decorative glassless windows. Remus remembered hanging out on the very bridge with James, Sirius and Peter all those years ago. Oh the chaos one could cause on a bridge that was suspending hundreds of feet off the ground.

Harry put a hand on either side of one of the windows and looked out into the distance "Professor....can I ask you something...?" he muttered nervously. He looked as though he was debating on whether he should tell his teacher what was on his mind or not.

Remus walked over and put a hand at the window at Harry's right. He leaned on his side as he looked keenly at the boy "You want to know why I stopped you from facing that boggart, yes?" he smiled warmly.

Harry nodded.

"I would have thought the answer was obvious, I assumed it would take the shape, of Voldemort" Remus answered honestly.

"I _did _think of Voldemort...at first" Harry said softly "But then I remembered that night on the train...the dementor."

Remus looked at him thoughtfully "Well, I'm very impressed. I'd suggest that what you fear the most is fear itself_." Of course, leave it to James's kid to go off and do something heroic like fear, fear itself_ Remus mentally smiled. "This is very wise" he added.

"Before I fainted...I heard something" Harry said, sounding even more hesitant now "A woman...screaming."

"Well, dementors force us to relive our very worst memories. Our pain becomes their power" Remus answered with a sigh. _It really, does, believe me I know. _

And then all of a sudden Harry stated "I think it was my mother."

Remus fought very hard to keep his jaw from falling open, and his heart from shattering into a million pieces. He did not, see that coming. Not one bit. His mother...Lily screaming? Could he have relived the memory of when Lily and James gave their lived for him?

"...The night she was murdered" Harry added, confirming Remus's suspicions.

Remus suddenly felt like he was 22 again and Dumbledore had just given him the news of James and Lily's deaths and he felt just as he did when he broke down in front of Dumbledore all those years ago. He now put both his hands on the edges of the window and leaned against it, staring out into the distance in a much more thoughtful way than Harry had been.

"You know the very first time I saw you Harry, I recognized you immediately" Remus stated. He turned his head to see the boy's reaction. And found Harry looking down with an expression that said "Of course you recognized me, everyone recognizes _me._"

"Not by your scar, by your eyes. Their your mother, Lily's" he added, speaking his mind.

He smiled almost undetectably at the look Harry gave him. A very curious look, the look every other 13 year old wore when they were interested. Except Harry's was so serious and yet so innocent at the same time. Remus felt as though he was finally staring at 13 year old school boy Harry Potter, not The-Boy-Who-Lived.

"Yes, oh yes, I knew her" Remus said as he took his hands off the window and walked to the other side of the bridge. Maybe it was to hide the emotion that overpowered him at the thought of Lily. Maybe it was so he wouldn't have to stare at her eyes as he spoke of her. Which ever it was, it caused Remus to put his hands onto the window across from Harry, and look out into the distance once more. "Your mother was there for me at a time when no one else was"

_"Hey Remus!" the voice of 21 year old Lily Potter came to Remus Lupin's ears. He looked up as she came over and sat on the park bench next to him "How's it going?"_

_"Ok...I guess..." Remus muttered "What are you doing here?"_

_"Oh, me?" Lily said, the smile still plastered to her beautiful face "I'm here with James and Sirius, they're over on that side somewhere" she gestured wildly over Remus's shoulder "I saw you and decided to say hi!"_

_Remus simply sighed._

_"What's wrong Remus?" Lily asked in a concerned voice._

_"Nothing...I...it's just that..." Remus struggled with his words "James and Sirius have been a bit distant lately...I mean it's the height of the war Lily! What would they want to distance themselves now of all times?"_

_"Oh, don't worry about them" Lily said putting a hand on his shoulder "You of all the people should know not to mind them. They'll get over it eventually...believe me."_

_"Really?' Remus raised a brow sceptically._

_"They will, hang on-JAMES!" Lily called over Remus's shoulder. And despite being half way across the park, James immediately turned to the sound of his wife's voice. Lily gestured for him to come. She noticed him say something to Sirius, and then Sirius say something back before they began to walk over. _

_"What is it Lily-er...oh hey Remus..." James said as he approached them._

_"Hey Moony" Sirius greeted as well._

_"Hey..." Remus said barely looking up at his friends._

_"So...um....when the next moon?" Sirius asked breaking a rather awkward silence._

_"The moon comes out every day you nitwit" Remus muttered out of instinct. He gasped a little as soon as he realized what he had said however._

_Sirius gave a dry laugh "Oh...right."_

_"What he means is, full moon is tonight isn't it?" James corrected._

_Remus nodded._

_"So...we'll meet at the usual place?" Sirius offered._

_"Yeah...yeah we will" Remus smiled. _

_"You boys do that, I'm going to head home" Lily smiled "I'm beat." _

_"You sure you don't want to hang around?" Sirius asked._

_Lily just nodded "You guys need some time" she smiled "I'll see you all tomorrow morning then. And Remus better be with you, I don't care if he's a half beaten up werewolf, he's still coming over for breakfast."_

_"Got it" James nodded with a smile._

_"Bye then" she said before she disaparated. She managed to give Remus an enormous smile before she left._

_And Remus was so grateful that all he could do was return it. _

"Not only was she a singularly gifted witch, she was also uncommonly kind"

_"Remus?" 15 year old Lily Evans said as she came up behind Remus Lupin. She had just entered the library and saw her friend sitting at a table, studying. _

_"Oh, hi Lily" Remus smiled looking up from his textbook._

_"What are you doing here so late?" Lily asked a she sat down next to him._

_"Oh you know....studying...my potions O.W.L is in a few days and I'm loosing it" Remus sighed "It's the only subject that I'm below perfect in."_

_"Oh, well I'm pretty good in potions..." Lily said "Why don't I tutor you?"_

_"That sounds pretty good" Remus smiled._

_"Good, why don't we start tomorrow after class?" Lily asked "For now, you look like you need some sleep."_

_"Yeah, I do" Remus laughed drowsily._

"She had a way of seeing the beauty in others, even and perhaps most especially when that person couldn't see it themselves"

_"Remus! There you are! James and Sirius have been going crazy looking for you!" 14 year old Lily Evans cried as she ran up to Remus. He sat at the edge of a lake, simply staring down at it. Lily sat down next to him._

_"Remus?"_

_"I'm sorry if I...caused you to worry" Remus said softly, not taking his eyes off the running water._

_"Remus, what's wrong? Why did you run off like that?" Lily asked in a concerned tone._

_"I just...I don't know Lily...I...when Peter told me I'd killed that fox last night..." Remus trailed off._

_"Oh come on Remus, it was just a fox. And you weren't even in your right mind!" Lily protested._

_"So? I still killed it! I mean if I can kill that fox then it's a matter of time before I attack one of you guys" Remus sighed pathetically "I'm a monster."_

_"Remus, don't say that!" Lily cried "You are not a monster! The wolf is, not you! And don' t you tell me it's the same thing because it's not! You're no monster Remus, you are a kind caring, brilliant person. And I don't think I know a single soul purer than yours!" _

_Remus took a minute to allow the rant of compliments to sink "You really mean all that?"_

_"Of course I do!" Lily nodded "You are such a good person, Remus that I can't describe it in words, and you have to believe me on that one."_

_Remus opened his mouth to speak but was cut off as Lily gave him a comforting sisterly hug._

_"You are an amazing person and don't you ever forget it."_

_Remus could only smile._

"And your father...James on the other hand..." Remus trailed off as his pensive expression was replaced by a grin. He chuckled, oh how to describe, James....Hilarious...

_"JAMES POTTER I AM GOING TO BRUTALLY AND PAINFULLY MURDER YOU!" the sound of 13 year old Sirius Black's voice screamed from the boy's dormitory. _

_From the Gryffindor common room, James broke out in sudden laughter._

_"Do I want to know what you did to him?" Remus asked trying to suppress a grin. _

_"Just watch" James grinned " He should be here in 5....4...3...2...and-"_

_"POTTER!" Sirius burst through the common room entrance his face red with rage and his hair....blue?_

_Remus immediately cracked up at the sight of his friend. _

_"Ok, not funny Lupin!" Sirius growled. _

_"Oh...so...funny!" James shouted through his own laughter._

_"Ah, but you just watch Prongs, I'm gonna get you for this. You just watch" Sirius warned, a sly smile coming over his own face._

_"Alright, whatever you say blue hair" James laughed._

_And as Sirius growled once more, Remus broke into even more laughter. _

Embarrassing...

_"Oh, come on Moony, just tell her!" 15 year old James Potter cried._

_"No! She is way out of my league....way" Remus sighed, glancing down the Gryffindor table to a certain young lady for about the tenth time in the past minute. _

_"Aw, lookit Moony the love sick puppy" Sirius taunted playfully._

_"Shut up Padfoot" Remus muttered._

_"If you want me to shut up you'll have to go ask her out" Sirius grinned._

_Remus groaned "I just can't. I'm too-"_

_"If you say dangerous I'm going to force Peter to transform and eat you alive" Sirius threatened. _

_Remus sighed and buried his face in his arms._

_"Ok, that's it. I can't stand watching you sulk over her any more. I'm going to do something about this. Now" James said slamming his palms on the table. _

_"No!" Remus's eyes widened "No,no, no James, please don't-"_

_But it was too late, James had already gotten up and stood up on his seat. He then looked down the table straight to Nicole Anthos and screamed off the top of his lungs the following:_

_"YO NICKI ! YEAH! OVER HERE! LISTEN, YOU KNOW REMUS LUPIN FROM ASTRONOMY?! HE THINKS YOU HAVE NICE EYES!" _

_That was as far as James got before Remus grabbed his leg and pulled him down "James, I am going to kill you!" _

_But Remus was cut off as Nicole Anthos came up behind him and cleared her throat nervously..._

Despicable...

_"Remus, move your arm dammit!" James growled as he leaned further towards Remus. _

_"For Merlin's sake Prongs, just do your own worksheet! It's not that hard!" Remus sighed "At this rate you're going to fail right out of your history classes!"_

_"Yeah, yeah, as long as you'll be my best friend forever and ever I'll never have to worry" James said hurriedly as he took down the answer for number nine. _

_Remus simply rolled his eyes._

Caring...

_"Hey Moony, how's it going" 17 year old James Potter said as he entered the empty dormitory, set aside Remus. The latter sat on the window sill, leags curled close to his body. _

_When Remus failed to answer James's question, he frowned. "Hey, Moony!"_

_Remus jerked out of his thoughts and turned to his friend "Oh...hey James..."_

_"What's wrong Remus?" James frowned as he approached his friend._

_"Nothing..." Remus sighed._

_"Come on, I know something's wrong. What is it?" James asked softly as he sat on the window sill across from his friend, just so their feet touched. _

_"I...well I got an owl this morning" Remus muttered peering out the window "My uncle's passed away. Some crazed dementor attack got to him."_

_"Aw, Moony, I'm sorry" James looked apologetic "Was she your mum's brother?"_

_Remus simply nodded. _

_"Have you talked to her about it?" James asked carefully._

_Remus shook his head._

_"I think you should owl her back. I'm sure she's just as bad as you are right now, if not worse" James advised "I mean, I know she's got your dad-mind he is the first person __**I'd **__want if I needed comforting_

_Remus remained silent for a long time, and James allowed him time alone to his thoughts. _

_"I feel terrible" Remus stated plainly. _

_"I know Moony.." with that, James gently reached over and pulled his friend into a brotherly hug "I know."_

Remus could have thought of a million and one things to describe James....however he decided simply to go with "He had a certain, shall we say, talent for trouble."

"A talent..." Remus turned to face Harry and saw the boy doing the same "Rumor has it, he passed on to you" he said as he walked back to Harry's side.

He felt a sort of happiness spill over inside of him as he saw Harry look down and smile. Remus looked down as well, wearing almost the same smile.

He sighed as he saw Harry reach over and rubbed the back of his neck slowly. Just like James. James used to do that all the time whenever he was feeling particularly light or happy.

"You're more like them than you know" Remus said softly, returning his gaze to the horizon "In time you'll come to see just how much."

The two stood in silence for a long time. Remus drowning in his fondest memories and Harry wondering about the things his professor had told him.

After a while however Remus spoke up "Well, Harry, if you're not doing anything, then why don't you come with me to my office? Have nice cup of tea? Examine the new shipment of grindylows maybe?"

Harry smiled up at him "I think I'd like that."

Remus returned the smile and together they set off to his office. Though most of the trip was in silence, it was a comfortable one. Not awkward in the least...an Remus liked it that way. He got the feeling he was finally getting somewhere with Harry.

Once they had reached Remus's office, he pulled out an old kettle and tapped it with his wand, making some instant tea. Meanwhile Harry examined the large tank at the corner of the office. A sickly green creature with sharp little horns, had it's face pressed against the glass. It pulled faces at Harry and flexed it's long spindly fingers.

"Water demon" Remus said as he began to pour the tea "We shouldn't have much difficulty with him. Not after the kappas. The trick is to break his grip. You notice the abnormally long fingers? Strong but very brittle."

The grindylow bared it's green teeth at Harry and then buried itself in a tangle of weeds in a corner of the tank.

"Here is your tea, Harry" Remus said holding out a cup. Harry walked over and took the cup. He seated himself in front of Remus's desk where Remus sat down himself.

They both sipped at their tea a bit before Remus noticed a rather distressed look come over Harry's face. "Anything worrying you, Harry?" he asked gently.

"No..." Harry muttered and then quickly said "Yes." He put his tea down on Remus's desk. "Professor...why do the dementors affect me so?" he blurted out "I mean more than everyone else?"

"Listen, the dementors are among the foulest creatures to walk this earth" Remus said setting his tea down as well "They feed on every good feeling, every happy memory until the person is left with absolutely nothing but his worst experiences."

"You are not weak" he stated strongly "The dementors affect you most of all because there are true horrors in your past. Horrors that most can scarcely imagine. You have nothing to be ashamed of" Remus said looking away.

Harry looked up and tried to meet his teacher's gaze "I'm scared, Professor."

"Well I'd consider you a fool if you weren't" Remus chuckled.

"I need to know how to fight them" said Harry "You could teach me...you made that dementor on the train go away...!"

"It was only one that night..." Remus protested, knowing where this was going. Harry was asking to teach him the Patronus Charm. But that was a very advanced piece of magic, a bit dangerous for a third year(Remus himself had learned it in his third year and he knew the effects it had.)

"But you made it go away..." Harry insisted. The look on his face was unbearable. He was truly afraid of these dementors...they made him suffer. And Remus simply couldn't allow Harry to go through that...

"Well, I don't pretend to be...an expert, Harry..." Remus sighed "But as the dementors have developed a particular interest in you..." he chuckled softly "Perhaps I should teach you."

Harry smiled broadly.

At that moment there was a knock on the door.

"Come in" Remus called.

The door opened, and in came Snape. He was carried a goblet, which was smoking faintly, and stopped at the sight of Harry, his black eyes narrowing.

"Ah, Severus" Remus said smiling, relieved that his wolfsbane was finally complete for the month. Full moon was in a single night's time and he always liked to be safe. "Thanks very much. Could you leave it over here on the desk for me?"

Snape set the goblet down, his eyes wandering between Remus and Harry.

"I was just showing Harry my grindylow" Remus said pleasantly, pointing at the tank.

"Fascinating" Snape said without even looking at it "You should drink that immediately, Lupin."

"Yes, yes I will" said Remus.

"I made an entire cauldron full" Snape continued "Should you need more."

"I probably will tomorrow. Thanks very much Severus."

"Not at all" Snape said, but there was a certain look in his eyes that neither Remus nor Harry seemed to like very much. But Snape simply backed out of the room, unsmiling and watchful.

Remus noticed Harry look curiously at the goblet. He smiled "Professor Lupin has kindly concocted a potion for me" he said, trying to sound as normal as possible. He knew Harry was wondering what the potion was for, and Remus was bound to do his best to make it look like anything but a potion for werewolves.

"I have never been much of a potion-brewer and this one is particularly complex" he picked up the goblet and sniffed it "Pity...sugar makes it useless" he added taking a sip and shuddering. Pity indeed. The wolfsbane potion tasted so disgusting it was almost as bad as the transformation itself.

"Why-?" Harry began. Remus simply looked at him and answered the unfinished question.

"I've been feeling a bit off-color" he said "This potion is the only thing that helps. I am very lucky to be working alongside Professor Snape; there aren't very many wizards who are up to making it." And as Remus took another sip, he vaguely wondered why Harry looked as though he was about to jump up and knock the goblet out of his hand.

"Professor Snape's very interested in the Dark Arts" Harry blurted out.

"Really?" Remus said as though he had never heard that one before.

"Some people reckon-" Harry hesitated, then plunged recklessly on "Some people reckon he'd do anything to get the Defense Against The Dark Arts Job."

Remus mentally laughed. Why did he get the impression that Harry thought Snape was trying to poison him? He drained the goblet and pulled a face. Well it tasted terrible so it had to be normal.

"Disgusting" he thought out loud "Well, Harry, I'd better get back to work. I'll see you at the feast later" he said trying to avoid a conversation as awkward as Snape trying to kill him.

"Right" Harry said, putting down his empty teacup. He stood up "Thanks again, Professor."

And the enormous smile he gave Remus just before he walked out of the office was enough to light up his entire day.

**HP**

**HP******HP**

**HP**

**So, how was that? I hope the flashbacks where ok =] Actually if you guys could do me a favor if you review, can you tell me if the flashbacks where good? Because I like writing things like that and I'll stop if they don't flow with the story. **

**Please Review! =]**


	6. The Lesson

**Alright guys, here's the next one. Super AU here because I realized that if Remus and Sirius had some kind of understanding in the Shrieking Shack, then they have to have met sometime before. Because generally Remus thought that Sirius was the traitor and as calm as even Remus is, I doubt even he could keep that calm knowing the traitor was right there. So there's a brief meeting here and a drawn out one later on. So Enjoy!**

Remus Lupin woke up, cold, hungry, tired and sore.

He felt something wet and yet somewhat comforting, brushing against his cheek. It was a very familiar feeling, he just couldn't place it. He heard a small whimpering sound...like a dog or something. He pried his eyes open and saw a large shaggy black dog licking at his cheek. His mind was still clouded with sleep and made his eyes slowly drift closed once more. And after a while he heard the soft whimpering of the dog again. And then he felt a soft paw on his cheek and a lick on his nose.

And then suddenly something inside Remus clicked; there was one person that had ever placed a paw on his cheek and licked at his nose after his transformations.

He shot his eyes open and his pupils darted around furiously "Sirius?" he whispered, the urgency clear in his voice.

But this time, there was no black dog, there was no soft whimpering or comfortable licking. Remus closed his eyes again. Was he just imagining it? Was he just imagining Sirius coming to him in his dog-animagus form after such a hard transformation? The thought hurt very dearly, and so Remus cast it aside.

He reopened his eyes(and almost hoped to see the dog again) and the first thing he saw was the floor at an oddly angled eye level. It took him a moment to realize he was lying on the floor of the shrieking shack; the very same place he had come for transformations when he was in school. Once Remus recognized himself to be on the cold, dirty floor, he attempted to lift himself up.

And after a few failed tries(his limbs felt like someone had chewed them up and then reattached them to his body) Remus decided to just survey his wounds for a bit. He recognized a few new bite marks on his right arm, a slash on his left arm, a few scratches on his chest and neck and a nasty gash on his right leg. For 13 years now the wolf was without the pack of animagus James, Peter and Sirius that had kept him company and away from tearing at himself. And now that he was alone again, he had to resort back to biting and scratching at himself. And Merlin's beard did it hurt.

Remus knew he would definitely have to call in sick for a few days. Which he felt very bad about because he was told that Snape was substituting his classes. His poor, poor Gryffindors. They would be crushed if they walked into the defense room and saw Snape. Absolutely crushed.

Remus sighed and shook his head, then winced as it pulled at one of the scratches on his neck. He decided to give standing up another go, and this time managed to get on his feet by leaning on the old piano at the corner of the room. He grabbed his clothes from on top of it and(with much, much difficulty) got himself dressed.

He then, still leaning on the piano for support, groaned. It was going to be torture trying to make it back to the castle undetected in his currents state, not to mention he could barely move without pulling some wound or other.

Nevertheless he managed to pull himself out of the shrieking shack and make it back to Madam Pomfrey in one piece. She immediately rushed to patch up his worse than usual injuries and told him he would have to stay for at least 2 or 3 days more.

Joy.

She also told him that he should refrain from moving around to much and that he needed plenty of rest. But sleep didn't come too easily to Remus.

He lay awake in bed thinking back upon what had happened right after he had woken up in the shrieking shack. With the black dog. He still wondered if he had imagined it, but something told him that it was very much real. And it could have just been another black dog, but something told it it was Sirius.

But why...why would Sirius come to him? Sirius wasn't stupid and he probably knew Remus was pretty god damned pissed off at him right now. Well...at least he thought he was pissed off.

Remus's feelings towards Sirius where very unclear these days. In the beginning, right after James and Sirius's death, Remus was convinced that there just had to be a missing piece, that Sirius just couldn't do something like that. But after 13 years of searching for that missing piece to no avail, doubt started to creep in. Until now, Remus was truly beginning to believe that Sirius was the one that had done it. Though he was still open to any sign of that one missing piece....and if Sirius wanted to talk to him...

"There's not point in simply laying there, dear. You might want to actually get some rest" Madam Pomfrey smiled just before stepping out the door. Remus simply smiled until she left and turned to his side, then quickly turned back as a sharp pain shot up his arm.

This was going to be a long...long recovery process. Both mental and physical.

**HP**

**HP******HP**

**HP**

As Remus stepped into his Gryffindor class three days later, he smiled broadly at the miserable faces of his favorite students. They immediately cheered up upon seeing him though, and the second he reached his desk, they broke out in complaints about Snape's behavior.

"It's not fair, he was only filling in, why should he give us homework?"

"We don know a thing about werewolves-"

"-two rolls of parchment!"

"Did you tell Professor Snape we haven't covered them yet" Remus frowned. Snape was really trying to get him fired wasn't he?

But as soon as Remus asked, the babble broke out again.

"Yes, but he said we were really behind-"

"-he wouldn't listen-"

"_two rolls of parchment!" _

Remus smiled at the indignation on every face. He really did love these kids.

"Don't worry, I'll speak to Professor Snape . You don't have to do the essay."

"Aw" he heard from a very disappointed looking Hermione "I've already done it."

"Then extra points for you, Hermione" Remus smiled. Her face visibly lit up, and on that note he began the lesson.

They had a very enjoyable lesson. Remus had brought along a tank full of hinkypunks, little one legged creatures that looked as though it were made of wisps of smoke, rather frail and harmless-looking.

"Lure travelers into bogs" Remus said as the class took notes "You notice the lantern dangling from his hand? Hops ahead, people follow the light, then-"

The hinkypunk made a horrible screeching sound against the glass.

When the bell rang, everyone gathered their things and with a last grin at Remus, began to leave, Harry among them, but-

"Wait a moment Harry, I'd like a word."

He watched as Harry doubled over and walked back to his desk.

"I heard about the match" Remus said as he put a cloth over the hinkypunk's tank "and I'm sorry about your broomstick. Is there no chance of fixing it?"

"No" Harry said with a sigh "The tree smashed it to bits."

Remus sighed as well "They planted the whomping willow the same year that I arrived at Hogwarts" he realized ha had just given away a small detail to his lycanthropy, and that if Hermione by any chance found this out she would put two and two together... "People used to play a game, trying to get near enough to touch the trunk. In the end a boy called Davey Gudgeon nearly lost an eye, an we were forbidden to go near it" he redeemed himself, hoping Harry would buy that he had never been near the tree after that.

"Did you hear about the dementors too?" Harry asked with clear difficulty.

Remus looked at him quickly, back at the healer's wing he had made a mental note to speak to Harry about that but had completely forgotten till now."Yes I did" he nodded "I don't think any of us have ever seen Professor Dumbledore that angry. They have been growing restless for some time...furious at his refusal to let him inside the grounds...I suppose they were the reason you fell?"

Harry nodded hesitantly "Why did they have to come to the match?" he said bitterly.

"They're getting hungry" Remus said coolly, shutting his briefcase with a snap "Dumbledore won't let them into the school, so their supply of human prey has dried up...I don't think they could resist the large crowd around the Quiditch field. All that excitement...emotions running high...it was their idea of a feast."

"Azkaban must be terrible" Harry muttered. Remus nodded grimly, thinking of his old friend.

"The fortress is set on a tiny island way out to sea, but they don't need walls and water to keep the prisoners in, not when they're all trapped inside their own heads, incapable of a single cheerful thought. Most of them go mad within weeks.

"But Sirius Black escaped from them" Harry said slowly "He got away..."

Remus was bit stunned to hear Harry say Sirius's name like that. His briefcase slipped from his grip and he had to react quickly to catch it.

"Yes" he said straightening up, and regaining his posture "Black must have found a way to fight them" it felt odd to say Black and not Sirius, like he was used to "I wouldn't have believed it possible" he spoke like every other wizard in London would.

There was a small silence before Harry hesitantly spoke "Erm, Professor...about those lessons...you know...for repelling the dementors..."

"Ah yes" Remus nodded "How about eight o'clock this evening? The History of Magic classroom should be large enough...I'll have to fetch that boggart that Mr. Filch was going to do away with then, since we can't bring a real dementor into the castle to practice on..."

"That sounds good" Remus could hear the relief in the boy's voice.

"Good, well I'll see you then" Remus smiled as the next class began pouring in.

Harry simply nodded before he took off.

**HP**

**HP******HP**

**HP**

At exactly eight o'five that evening Remus stepped into the History of Magic room. As he did, he spotted Harry waiting patiently for him, studying the large trunk that he had left there about an hour ago.

"What's that?" Harry asked as his professor walked to him.

"That, Harry, is the boggart" Remus said shedding off his cloak.

"Oh...cool" Harry said, trying to sound as though apprehensive at all.

"So..." Remus said taking out his wand, indicating that Harry should do the same "The spell I am going to try to teach you is highly advanced magic, Harry-well beyond Ordinary Wizaring Level. It is called the Patronus Charm."

"How does it work?" Harry asked nervously.

Remus smiled to himself; this was exactly how Sirius, James and Peter had reacted when he offered to teach them the Patronus Charm. "Well...when it works correctly it conjures up a Patronus which is a kind of anti-dementor-a guardian that acts as a shield between you and the dementor" Remus explained using the exact same words he had spoken to the Marauders back in their third year. He remembered James's hilarious reaction to it as clear as daylight:

_"So how exactly does this Patronus Charm work Moony?" Sirius raised a brow. _

_James and Peter simply looked on curiously._

_"Well...when it works correctly it conjures up a Patronus which is a kind of anti-dementor-a guardian that acts as a shield between you and the dementor" Remus explained._

_"Whoa...I just had the sudden mental image of myself crouching behind a Hagrid-sized figure, holding a club!" James cried bluntly. _

_The other three Marauders burst into laughter, subsequently having the same image in their minds. _

Remus shook off the thought with a mental grin and continued "The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the dementors feed upon-hope, happiness, the desire to survive-but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the dementors can't hurt it. But I must warn you, Harry, that the charm might be too advanced for you. Many qualified wizards have difficulty with it" he said truthfully.

"What does a Patronus look like?" Harry asked curiously.

"Each is unique to the person who conjures it" Remus replied.

"And how do you conjure it?" Harry asked the obvious.

"With an incantation, which will work only if you are concentrating, with all your might, on a single, very happy memory" Remus said indicating Harry to think of such memory.

He waited patiently for the boy and after a while Harry said slowly "Right."

"The incantation is this-" Remus cleared his throat "_Expecto Patronum!"_

_"Expecto Patronum" _Harry repeated under his breath _"Expecto Patronum."_

"Concentrating hard on your happy memory?" Remus asked.

"Oh, yes" Harry smiled "_Expecto Patronum, Expecto Patronum, Expecto Patronum-_"

Remus felt a rush as a small wisp of silvery light whooshed out of the tip of Harry's wand.

"Did you see that?" Harry said excitedly "Something happened!"

"Very good" Remus smiled remembering James's reaction to his first silvery wisps. "Right then, ready to try it on a dementor?"

"Yes" Harry said gripping his wand tightly and moving to the middle of the deserted classroom.

With a slow movement of his fingers, the locks on the trunk clicked open. Remus then grasped the lid and pulled it open.

A dementor slowly rose from the box, its hooded face turned towards Harry, one glistening scabbed hand gripping its cloak. The candles across the classroom flickered, then went out. The dementor stepped from the trunk and started o sweep silently towards Harry, drawing a deep rattling breath. A wave of piercing cold broke over the room and Remus wondered how long he would let it go before having to step in.

_"Expecto Patronum!" Harry yelled, but nothing happened "Expecto Patronum! Expecto-"_

Remus rushed in front of Harry as he saw the boy begin to waver and stepped in front of the dementor, which immediately twisted into a white orb. Remus stared hard at what was the full moon floating in front of him for a moment before he heard a heavy thump behind him. He figured that was Harry falling to the floor.

"_Ridikulus!"_ He said with a wave of his wand. The orb inflated itself and shot right back into the trunk, which Remus closed with another flick of his wand. Once the locks were secured, he rushed to Harry's side.

"Harry" he called softly, giving the boy's shoulder a soft shake "Harry" he called once more.

The teen jerked back to life.

"Sorry" he muttered Remus helped him sit up. He noticed the cold sweat trickling down behind his glasses.

"Are you alright?" he asked in a genuinely concerned voice.

"Yes..." Harry said looking around.

"Here-" Remus fished a chocolate frog out of his pocket and handed it to the boy "Eat this before we try again. I didn't expect you to do it your first time; in fact, I would have been astounded if you had."

"It's getting worse" Harry muttered, biting off the frog's head. "I could hear her louder that time-and him-Voldemort-"

Remus suddenly paled. Just the thought of his two friend's death made him feel terrible inside. "Harry, if you don't want to continue, I will more than understand-"

"I do!" Harry said fiercely., stuffing the rest of the chocolate frog into his mouth "I've got to! What if the dementors turn up at our game against the Ravenclaws? I can't afford to fall off again. If we lose this game then we've lost the Quiditch Cup!"

"Alright then..." Remus said, realizing he probably wanted to stop more than Harry. "You might want to select another memory, I mean to concentrate on...that one didn't seem to have been strong enough."

He allowed Harry some more time to think of another memory.

"Ready?" Remus asked as Harry gripped his wand tightly and looked up.

"Ready" Harry nodded.

"Ok then, go!" Remus said pulling off the lid once more. The room went icily cold again. The dementor glided forward, drawing its breath; one rotting hand extended towards Harry-

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry yelled "Expecto Patronum! Expcto Patro-"

Remus rushed forward once again as Harry stumbled. He shot the boggart back into the trunk once more before turning to Harry.

"Harry" he called gently "Harry..." he frowned as the boy failed to respond "Harry! Harry...wake up..."

Remus was relieved to see the boy's green eyes flutter open. Harry looked extremely dazed for a moment before he recognized where he was.

"I heard my dad" he muttered breathlessly as he sat up and looked Remus in the eyes.

Remus suddenly noticed the tears on Harry's face, mingling in with the sweat. He suddenly felt very choked up "You heard James?" he said as low as he could, as not to show too much emotion.

"Yeah..." Harry brushed his sleeve against his eyes "Why-you didn't know my dad, did you?"

"I-I did as a matter of fact" Remus swallowed "We were friends during our school years. Listen, Harry-perhaps we should leave it here for tonight. This charm is ridiculously advanced...I shouldn't have suggested putting you through this..." Remus said, desperately trying to hold back the overwhelming emotions forming inside of him, thinking about James...begging to Voldemort for mercy.

"No!" Harry half yelled. He stood up quickly "I'll have one more go. I'm not thinking of happy enough things, that's what it is...hang on..."

Once again Remus allowed him his time. And after a while he spoke "Ready?" he said against his better judgment "Concentrating hard? Alright-go!" He pulled the lid off the trunk and for the third time, the dementor rose out of it; the room felt cold and dark-

"_EXPECTO PATRONUM!"_ Harry yelled with more aggression "_**EXPECTO PATRONUM!" **_He growled, staring straight at the dementor.

The dementor halted as an almost blindingly white shield spewed from Harry's wand. It hovered between him and the dementor. Remus grinned broadly as Harry, with the precision of an auror, lowered the boggart back into the trunk. Remus laughed as he closed the lid over the top and took a few breaths before he looked to Harry, who stumbled over a bit.

"Fantastic job Harry!" Remus cried as he grinned at the boy. A slow smile spread across his face as well. "I did it..." he muttered breathlessly.

"Yes, that you did" Remus smiled "Well done, Harry. Well done!" He leaned over the trunk as he looked up and saw Harry leaning against one of the near by columns.

"Well, done" Remus smiled as he walked over to the boy. He was so proud he couldn't even describe it "Here take this" he said handing a chunk of chocolate to Harry. The two of them sat down next to one another on the small stairs bordering the columns.

"And just so you know Harry, I think you would have given your father a run for his money" Remus grinned "And that, is saying something."

"I was thinking of him..." Harry smiled contently "And mum."

Remus simply listened, all his negative thoughts of his late friends having been overthrown by pride for their child.

"Seeing their faces..." Harry spoke softly "They were talking to me...just talking...that's the memory I chose...I don't even know if it's real" he chuckled "It's the best I have" he smiled to his professor. And his professor smiled back.

**HP**

**HP******HP**

**HP**

**Well, there you go. I hope the flashback wasn't too random, I just really wanted to stick that in there XD **

**Reviews are appreciated =]**


	7. Caught

**Holy crap guys, I am so sorry, amongst the chaos called life I completely forgot I was supposed to update this every day or so. Geez I feel stupid now. Ah well, please enjoy this guys and the next one will be up tomorrow, I promise =] Enjoy!**

**Oh, and again, very AU because there is a meeting between Remus and Sirius here to fill in the gap =] Hope it isn't too out of character!**

It had been several weeks since Remus ad started giving Harry anti-dementor lessons. And he had to say, the boy picked it up incredibly fast. James's son indeed.

Remus was so proud of him, he could barely describe it. Their next lesson would be in a few days and he would have to go check up on their boggart. But at the moment Remus was enjoying a rather quiet evening in his room, with a cup of tea and a good book. The fireplace crackled loudly in front of him, producing a wonderful warmth at this time of winter.

He finished up his tea rather quickly and placed the cup onto a small table beside his armchair and continued reading his book. Eventually though, the werewolf began to doze off. And just when he was about to sink into a blissful sleep-

"Lupin!" Remus jerked awake and saw his fireplace blazing wildly "I want a word!"

The first thing that came to Remus's mind was _Oh boy, what did Harry do this time?_ But then he decided he probably should have a bit more faith in his best friend's son. But that was exactly the problem wasn't it? That he was James's son?

Remus smiled a bit to himself before glancing at the fireplace once more, but it had died back to it's normal crackling. He sighed and pulled himself off of the armchair. He set his book aside and grabbed a fistful of floo powder from a jar on the mantle and tossed it into the fireplace. He then stepped in and prepared for the trip to Snape's office.

A second later Remus clambered out of the fireplace of Snape's office. The first thing he noticed was Snape standing with his trademark frown in place and next to him...Harry. Remus frowned, nevertheless he said in a mild voice "You called Severus?"

"I certainly did" Snape said as his face contorted with fury "I have just asked Mr. Potter to empty his pockets. He was carrying this." Snape pointed a piece of old parchment which in more than familiar writing were the words:

_Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business._

_Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git._

_Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a professor._

_Mr. Wormtail bids Professor Snape a good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slimy git. _

The words looked all too familiar to Remus and for about the millionth time that year, his heart leapt to his throat. An odd expression came over his face as a million and one things raced through his head.

How on earth had Harry gotten the Marauder's Map? Last time he looked that thing had gotten confiscated from James, Sirius, Peter and himself by Mr. Filch on their last day. Pity it was but again, how in the name of Merlin did Harry get his hands on it?

He stared at the map, still in shock from seeing the map after so many years. Merlin, him and the other three used to love that thing! After all they were the ones that had created that piece of pure genius and to see it again...

"Well?" said Snape.

Remus's thoughts raced. He had to think of something fast, to cover for both himself and Harry. He glanced over at the teen whom he got the impression, knew he was doing some quick thinking.

"Well?" Snape said again "This parchment is plainly full of Dark Magic. This is supposed to be your area of expertise, Lupin. Where do you imagine Potter got such a thing?"

Remus looked up and, by the merest half-glance in Harry's direction, told to let him handle this and not to interrupt.

"Full of Dark Magic?" Remus repeated mildly "Do you really think so, Severus? It looks to me as though it is merely a piece of parchment that insults anybody who reads it. Childish, but surely not dangerous? I imagine Harry got it from a joke shop-"

"Indeed?" Snape cut his colleague off. His jaw had gone rigid with anger. "You think a joke shop could supply him with such a thing? You don't think it more likely that he got it _directly from the manufacturers?"_

Harry and Remus both raised a brow. Remus got the feeling Snape suspected _him_ of giving Harry the map-which clearly he didn't do.

So Remus smoothly replied "You mean, by Mr. Wormtail or one of these people? Harry do you know any of these men?"

"No" Harry said quickly.

"You see, Severus" Remus said turning back to Snape "It looks like a Zonko product to me-"

But Remus was cut off as Ron came bursting into the office. He stopped a few inches short of Snape and took several deep breaths before he managed to speak between his panting "I-gave-Harry-that-stuff" he choked "Bought-it...in Zonko's...ages-ago..."

"Well!" Remus said clapping his hands together and looking around cheerfully; he was more than happy about Ron's fantastically timed intrusion. "That seems to clear that up! Severus, I'll take this back, shall I?" Remus tried not to look to eager to take back what was rightfully his and tuck it into his pocket. "Harry, Ron come with me, I need a word about my vampire essay-excuse us Severus."

Remus quickly turned to the door and gestured for the boys to follow. He didn't dare look at Snape as they left his office. He led them all the way back to the entrance hall before Harry turned to Remus.

"Professor I-"

"I don't want to hear explanations" _Partially because I'm almost afraid to hear what happened _"I happen to know that this map was confiscated by Mr. Filch many years ago" Remus said to both boys "Yes, I know it's a map" he added seeing the bewildered expressions on both of their faces. "I don't want to know how it fell into your possession. I am, however, astounded that you didn't hand it in" the wolf inside of him couldn't help but discipline as if speaking to it's own cub. " And I'm afraid I can't let you have it back, Harry" he continued.

Harry nodded, accepting the judgment. Remus was happy he decided to calmly take it; after all nothing would hurt him more than to have to actually punish the boy.

"Why did Snape think I'd got it from the manufacturers?" Harry asked suddenly.

"Because..." Remus searched for an answer "because these mapmakers" _and by makers I mean not James, Peter or I, I mean Sirius Black _"would have wanted to lure you out of the school. They'd think it extremely entertaining."

"Do _you_ know them?" Harry asked in a rather impressed tone.

"We've met" Remus said with the grim memory of Sirius "Don't expect me to cover for you again, Harry. I cannot make you take Sirius Black seriously. But I would have thought that what you have heard when the dementors drew near you would have had more of an effect on you" Remus was in full parent mode, his wolf insisting on tending to his cub's misbehavior. "Your parents gave their lives to keep you alive, Harry. Poor way to repay them-gambling their sacrifices for a bag of magic tricks." And with that, Remus turned and walked away, having delivered a successful guilt trip, full blow.

It was only after a little while that Remus felt a bit bad for having been a tad too harsh. His thoughts suddenly went to James and Lily...how would they have reacted to his speaking to their son that way?

He could just hear James voice right now..._He's a kid Moony, he'll mess up sometimes and we're adults. We'll mess up sometimes too. No problem. He'll get over it. _

Yes that sounded very much like James.

Remus shook his head and pulled the map out of his pocket and pressed the tip of his wand to it. And in a shaky, low voice, slowly said "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

The blank piece of parchment immediately filled up with what was The Marauders map. Remus's thoughts raced at the sight of the painfully familiar print. He tapped his wand once more "Mischief managed." The ink disappeared and he tucked the map back into his pocket. He shoved back all the emotions that had suddenly filled him up and quickened his pace.

He needed to take a walk.

**HP**

**HP******HP**

**HP**

About 20 minutes later, Remus found himself walking through the Forbidden Forest at his own soft, steady pace.

It was still very light out and he wasn't too worried about being attacked by any creatures. Plus, being a werewolf, creatures knew to stay away from him the second they had one glance at him. So he was safe.

His hands stuffed into his pockets-one of them occasionally fingering the Marauder's Map-he strolled along in a rather pensive mood. And he had to admit he was pretty relaxed as well.

That is until, his nose suddenly picked something up. Being a werewolf, his senses were ridiculously heightened, especially his smell and hearing. He listened closely and heard the soft noise of paws against the ground some 10 or 15 feet away. He sniffed the air once more and met with the overwhelming scent of...Sirius Black.

Remus frowned. He wasn't sure if he should just keep walking and pretend he hadn't sensed a thing...or he could call out to Sirius. Part of him wanted to and part of him was afraid. Of course he wanted an explanation more than anything in the world, but above even that he was afraid to learn that maybe Sirius really was a murdering traitor.

He decided to keep walking, but a sudden rush of anger for Sirius came over him. _No, I'm not running from this anymore. That bloody git is going to explain to me why my life is in shambles and he's going to do it bloody well or I'll hex him into oblivion. _He growled to himself before abruptly stopping dead in his tracks. The soft padding against the ground came to a halt as well. Now all Remus could hear was the soft puffs of breath that had replaced the sound of the paws.

"Sirius" he called out "I know you're there."

Maddening silence came over the area.

"Sirius" Remus called once more "I'm alone. I'm not going to hurt you" he added, calming down a bit. He felt like he was trying to coax out a puppy or something...well technically...

Remus suddenly heard the soft padding resume until a large jet-black bear like dog emerged from the bushes. And as it came to Remus's side, it transformed into a tall grown human male.

Sirius Black had shoulder length wavy black hair, and an unkempt beard to match. He was tall and last time Remus looked he was broad shouldered as well. However now, he was skinny and very haggard looking. Not to mention his shabby, torn and dirty Azkaban clothes. Remus frowned upon the sight of his old friend.

Sirius looked terribly pale, the only color on his face being that of the dirt scattered across it. And if his eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse. Remus spotted the large elaborate tattoos scattered across Sirius's chest and arms; tattoos he remembered taking Sirius to get.

"Moony..." the man's voice sounded hoarse from lack of use.

"Don't call me that Sirius" Remus snapped quickly "What are you doing here? And why have you been following me around?" He continued walking, even quickening his pace a bit. Sirius had to take a small jump forward to keep up with him.

"How do you-oh..heightened senses...almost forgot" Sirius gave the most dry laugh imaginable "Truth, I haven't exactly been able to build up the courage to approach you..."

Remus did not respond.

"I know you're upset with me but just let me explain Remus. It's not what it looks like-"

"This is exactly what it looks like Sirius!" Remus growled as he stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face his old friend "You killed James and Lilly, you killed Peter and you ruined everything!" he yelled despite having spent the last 13 years trying to convince himself the complete opposite of that statement. He jabbed Sirius in the dirt covered, bony chest with every name he spoke.

"I...it's not like that Remus, I swear, just let me explain" Sirius pleaded, a genuine look of desperation on his face.

Remus suddenly realized that they had come to the forest lake. It was such a desolate lake that no one had even bothered to name it, and it was for this reason that the lake had become such a quick hangout for the Marauders all those years ago.

He hesitated a bit before he spoke "Come...sit" he said as he slowly lowered himself on to the ground. He was hit with such a strong wave of emotions as he remembered sitting in this very spot, James right next to him, Sirius on the other side and Peter looking over his shoulder. It hurt so badly.

It was a while before Sirius decided to sit down next to his old friend as well. They both looked anywhere but at one another.

"You wanna start explaining why I'm a hopeless looser, James and Peter are dead and you're and escaped convict?" Remus asked slowly.

"Ok...well..where to start.." Sirius muttered, nervously "Look Remus, there is very little that I can actually tell you now. Just know that when I ran off to find Peter, I found him in the middle of a busy street. The little rat was terrified when he saw me so he blew up half the street, transformed into a rat and cut off his own finger to make it look like he was dead. He ran off like the coward he always was. It looked like I killed them all. I had no one to prove otherwise and I was thrown into Azkaban."

"What?!" Remus spat "Why were you after-"

"Remus, I honestly can't tell you that right now, but I promise in time I'll tell you everything

Remus ran a hand through his light brown hair and let out a breath "So Pete's alive?"

"Unfortunately he is. And he's still a rat somewhere out there. I just have to find him and-Remus you have to help me find him" Sirius pleaded.

"Why do we need to find him?" Remus asked, confused.

"All I can say for now is that he's dangerous Remus, and he's out to get Harry. And I'm sure of that. Please, you need to help me..."

Remus shook his head slowly, trying to let everything sink. He was confused, shocked....but most of all he was so hurt. So indescribably hurt by the actions of his friend.

"Why..." he choked out "Why should I help you....when you're the one that messed everything up? Why should I help the one that ruined everything for everyone just because he went after Peter for what reason I don't even know!?" Remus looked away as the hurt and anger inside of him released themselves as stinging tears in the back of his eyes "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't turn you in to the ministry this instant Sirius Black!" he screamed turning back to face him.

Sirius cringed slightly, he'd never actually heard Remus scream before. As a matter of fact, even as he was hearing it, it felt very unnatural.

"God dammit, how do I even know if you're telling the truth?!" Remus shouted once more as he shot up, and turning away. He stepped over to a nearby tree and kicked the base roughly.

Sirius looked down, ashamed out of his mind. What had he expected? Remus to welcome him back with wide arms? _….Erm well...sort of.... _

"Remus...listen to me.." Sirius said quietly as he stood up as well. He walked over to his friend and stopped right behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder. When Remus seemed to have calmed down enough to look stay still, he continued, "Back in our school days....I wasn't the nicest person you could run into...I wasn't a very good person and very few people accepted me for who I was. So I was extremely lonely. You where the first person to ever take me in for me. And then I ran into James and Peter. But somehow I became closer to James. He became like my brother. No, he was my brother. He was the only one I had. Or so I thought, I mean I had you, but somehow I was blind to it. And I took advantage of it, and when I needed you the most, right before I was thrown into Azkaban, I couldn't reach you. And today, I need you this one more time and I just-" Sirius choked on his words. Remus heard the unshed tears in his voice as he continued "Look Remus, I'm no good at this whole letting my emotions out deal. All I'm trying to say is that I need you. You're the closest I've ever had and ever will have to family and I just-" Sirius tightened his grip on Remus's shoulder and pulled the werewolf to turn and face him "I just need you to forgive me."

"Sirius" Remus growled coldly "Just go away. Leave me be, suffice to say I have suffered enough without you here." He was not going to let Sirius mess things up even more for him. Even if his friend's words were sincere. What right did he have to leave Remus hanging like that in his time of need, and then to just come strutting back thinking he would be welcomed with opened arms?

"Please Remus" Sirius begged softly.

"Get lost Sirius" Remus gave an exasperated sigh "Please, before I turn you in."

An almost horrified look came over Sirius's features "Remus, please..."

"I said, bloody get lost, Padfoot!" Remus immediately gasped as he realized what had just slipped out of his mouth. He had just accidentally called Sirius by his Marauder name, wait to keep his emotions in check.

Sirius's expression suddenly brightened. It looked a bit odd now, to see such a haunted face smiling at him. Remus made no reaction.

"Thank you, Moony" Sirius smiled genuinely. Not that stupid grin that Remus was used to seeing on the dog-animagus's face. Oh no, this was a true smile of gratefulness. And suddenly Remus was happy he had accidentally slipped. "Thank you so much" Sirius said once more.

And for one simply, calm and peaceful moment, Remus stared into Sirius's grey eyes and Sirius's into his friend's brown. And silently made their amends.

Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off as a sudden feeling of cold darkness settled in. "Bloody hell" he growled under his breath, then turned to Remus "The dementors...they've sensed me. I have to go, before they catch you with me. Please don't tell Dumbledore that we've met or anything about Peter, I'm going to find the rat and then I'll go to Dumbledore myself" Sirius took a deep breath "I'm sorry our reunion was so short lived. I do hope to see you soon, Moony" he said before giving friends' shoulders one last squeeze and running off, transforming back into a dog before jumping into the bushes.

Remus let out a breath he wasn't aware he held.

He vaguely wondered if he had just dreamt that all up or if it had really happened. He prayed to Merlin that it was real because no one would ever know how relieved he was to hear that Sirius was indeed innocent. And to finally have found out the missing piece that he had tried to find for the past 13 years....well some part of it at least. As much as it didn't seem like it, he trusted Sirius to fill him in on things when the time was right.

He suddenly felt the cold once more and decided he should probably get going before the dementors got on his trail. He shoved his hands back into his pockets and suddenly remembered the map that was in it. He silently cursed himself for not having brought it up to Sirius; he probably would have loved to see this old thing still around, and even more, who had found it again.

Remus turned around a headed back to the castle, in an unusually good mood. And as he walked along a little slip of paper suddenly appeared in front of him and floated into his hand. Remus took a hold of the scrap of paper and found it was just a blank scrap of paper.

But suddenly an idea hit him. He drew his wand and tapped the paper lightly "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Ink dripped into the paper and a small message appeared. Remus re-sheathed his wand with a smile, typical Sirius to code his message like that. He settled his eyes on the paper which read in very familiar print:

_Was wondering if you could do me a little favor. Christmas is in a few days. I think Harry would like a new broomstick after what happened to his old one(yes I was there, I saw the match...as Snuffles of course) but the problem is I can't possibly even dream of trying to access my Gringotts account now. Think you can withdraw some money and buy that new Firebolt from Diagon Alley, for me? Knowing you I'm sure you still remember my account number from all those years ago. Then could you send it off to him in anonymous? If he asks then tell him it was from you..._

_Thanks a million Moony._

_By the way if you're at the Shrieking Shack next moon then just know that I'll be waiting._

Remus smiled as he tucked the paper into his pocket and walked along, a broad grin on his face.

So...Gringotts eh?

**HP**

**HP******HP**

**HP**

**Alright, well that was that. I meeting wasn't way too out of it. And the ending was a cute little thing I thought I'd add on =]**

** Hope you liked and Please Review!!!**


	8. Moon, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs

**Alright guys, here's the next one as promised. It skips through a whole bunch of parts from the book but I sort of had to do that so this chapter wouldn't be 15 pages long XD So Enjoy!!**

Several months had passed since Remus's patching up with Sirius.

The werewolf had done as he was told, from sending Harry that Firebolt (which he was proud to see the boy use it to win the finals) to keeping Dumbledore completely unaware. And Just as Sirius had promised, he had showed up at the next full moon, and the one after that...and the one after that. And the wolf was starting to get used to having the dog around again after so long.

June was approaching and he had also held his final exams. His third years had an outdoor obstacle course in which they had to wade across a paddling pool containing a grindylow, cross a series of potholes full of Red Caps, cross a marsh while being fed misleading directions by a hinkypunk and enter a trunk to battle a newly procured boggart. And he had to admit, for third years they performed spectacularly. He was especially impressed with Harry, who had walked out of the course looking at Remus as though to say "That's it? That was all?" The werewolf couldn't have been more proud. His cub was really growing stronger.

So all in all things where very good for Remus. And really, he had been in a rather brilliant mood since he had met up with Sirius. Guess it helped having 13 years worth of stress and pressure lifted of your shoulders.

On this particularly fine evening, Remus was in his office, ready to down another goblet full of the disgusting Wolfsbane Potion. Full moon was tonight and he had forgotten to take the potion last night, so best take two doses tonight to make up. Like every other moon for the past few months, Remus was pretty much expecting Sirius to be waiting at the Shack for him.

He smiled and lifted the goblet to his lips, but just as he was about to take a sip, a strong scent hit him(and surprisingly it wasn't the potion.) He set the goblet down on his desk and sniffed the air once more.

No...no it couldn't be...what in Merlin's name was Sirius's scent doing so close to Hogwarts grounds so soon? Sirius normally didn't show up at the Shrieking Shack until at least 11: 30 on full moons, and it was only about 9.

Remus frowned. Was that man trying to get himself thrown back into Azkaban? He shrugged, maybe Sirius had decided to come early...he reached for his potion once more but stopped abruptly as another scent hit him...another four scents to be more specific. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and another very familiar smell that he couldn't exactly identify.

Remus's heart suddenly skipped several beats. He raced over to the top right drawer of his desk and pulled it open. He extracted the Marauder's Map from it and quickly called it to life. And as soon as the little blots of ink showing where each person was, appeared, Remus's eyes immediately searched for Sirius. And his heart skipped a dozen more beats when he saw in the Shrieking Shack where the symbols of Sirius, Harry, Ron, Hermione and-Peter Pettigrew? Peter.....what the devil was Peter-

And then it suddenly hit him. Like a killing curse to the chest it hit him. Peter had cut his own finger off and transformed into a rat to frame Sirius 13 years ago...and Ron...owned a rat...that was missing a toe...and he had owned it for 13 years.

Scabbers was Peter! The excitement of the revelation suddenly died down when the thought really hit him. Merlin's beard, Scabbers was Peter! Sirius had found Peter!

In one swift movement, Remus dropped the map, threw his wand back into his pocket and raced out the door. A million and one things ran through his mind as he dashed through the halls and headed straight for the back entrance that was closest to the Shrieking Shack.

What was Sirius doing with Harry and the others? Did they know that Peter was right there with them? Or worse, had Peter or even Sirius done anything to harm the kids or themselves?

The thoughts only made Remus increase his speed, and a wave of relief washed over him as he felt the cold breeze on his skin upon stepping out of the castle. He looked briefly up at the night sky before taking of in the direction of the Whomping Willow. As soon as he approached the deadly tree, it swung its enormous club like branches at him. But Remus hurriedly uttered an incantation, causing the tree to freeze on the spot. He was relieved it had done so because he could have sworn his incantation was a bit muffled, but that thought was tossed very quickly aside as he spotted the entrance at the base of the tree to the Shrieking Shack.

He dashed towards the small arched entrance and slipped in. He undid the charm on the Willow and stepped carefully into the Shack. He both quietly and carefully ran up the stairs leading to the actual Shack itself. Just as he approached the door of shack, he heard Hermione call out "HELP! WE'RE UP HERE!"

Remus's breath caught in his throat, nevertheless he forced himself to burst through the doors. He was greeted by the scene of Sirius laying on the ground in the center of the room, Harry on top of him, pinning him to the ground, wand at Black's face. Ron laying on the small couch at the corner of the room, Hermione at his side.

"_Expelliarmus_!" Remus shouted, sending the wand pointed at Sirius, flying out of his hand, and into his own. Harry looked back at him a bit blankly.

Remus then spoke in a very tense voice "Where is _he_, Sirius?" he noticed Harry spin around to look at him, then to Sirius and back.

Sirius on the other hand wore a very emotionless expression. It hurt Remus to see him in the same condition that he had been way back in the winter. Remus had offered him shelter, a change of clothes and such but all Sirius had accepted was a bit of food and water over the course of the months. Still, Sirius looked focused and determined as he slowly lifted up his hand to point at Ron, or more specifically the rat in his hands.

Remus suddenly had the overwhelming urge to run up there and strangle Peter himself...but why? Really...why? He didn't even know why Sirius had him looking for Peter..."But then..." he muttered softly trying to make sense of the situation. He stared hard at Sirius. "...why exactly has he been....why hasn't he shown himself? Unless..." something suddenly hit Remus. The only reason why Sirius would go after Peter right after James and Lily's murder is if..."unless he was the one...unless you switched without telling me?" He knew his sentences were broken and he was making no sense but what he really meant was that if they had switched the Potter's secret keeper to Peter instead if Sirius then it would have been Peter that betrayed the Potters...not Sirius. Thus deeming Sirius completely and absolutely innocent. The thought made Remus truly want to jump up and scream to the world that his best friend was innocent.

Despite Remus's broken sentences, Sirius seemed to have understood, and nodded.

"Professor" Harry interrupted loudly. But Remus drowned him out as he reached out a hand towards Sirius. It was finally confirmed. Finally justified as a truth. That Sirius Orion Black, was innocent. That simple thought brought so much happiness to him, that as soon as Sirius reached up and took his hand, Remus pulled him up off the ground and embraced him like a brother.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione screamed, suddenly tearing Remus out of his happiness. He reluctantly let go of Sirius and turned to her. She took a step towards him and pointed directly at his chest, wild-eyed "You-you-"

"Hermione-" Remus tired to reason. But Hermione wouldn't have any of it.

"-You and him!"

"Hermione calm down-"

"I didn't tell anyone!" Hermione shrieked "I've been covering for you!"

"Hermione listen to me please! I can explain!" Remus shouted almost desperately. These children had come to mean so much to him...he didn't think he could bear it if he where to loose someone else because of his "furry little problem."

"I trusted you!" Harry suddenly shouted at Remus "and all this time you've been his friend!"

"You're wrong" Remus mustered up. He felt simply shattered at the sight of Harry turning on him "I haven't been Sirius's friend-but I am now, let me explain..." he tried to hold on to what little faith they still had in him.

"NO!" Hermione screamed "Harry, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too-_he's a werewolf!_"

There was a sudden ringing silence and all eyes turned to Remus. Who himself had gone terribly pale. Sirius looked like he was going to hex Hermione for not only bad mouthing Remus like that, but also randomly screaming out his condition.

"Not at all up to your usual standard Hermione" Remus said keeping his voice as calm as possible "Only one out of three right there I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius into the castle, I certainly don't want Harry dead..." Remus shivered a bit "But I won't deny that I'm a werewolf."

Ron made a valiant effort to stand but fell back with a thud. Remus moved to help him with a concerned fatherly expression but stopped dead in his tracks as Ron immediately spat "_Get away from me, werewolf!_"

That one stung. It stung terribly. But Remus shoved it aside as he turned to Hermione "How long have you known?"

"Ages" Hermione snorted "Since Professor Snape assigned that essay."

"He'll be delighted" Remus said coolly "He assigned that essay hoping that someone would recognize the symptoms....did you recognize from the lunar charts that I was always ill on full moon or that my boggart was the moon?"

"Both" Hermione answered quietly.

Remus forced himself to laugh as a cover of swallowing the lump in his throat. "You really are the cleverest witch of your age, Hermione."

"I'm not..." Hermione whispered "If I'd been a bit cleverer I would have told everyone what you are."

"But they already know" Remus quirked "At least the staff do"

"Dumbledore hired you knowing you're a werewolf?" Ron gasped "Is he mad?"

"Some of the staff thought so" Remus sighed "He had to work very hard to convince them that I was trustworthy-"

"AND HE WAS WRONG!" Harry yelled "YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM THE WHOLE TIME!" He pointed accusingly at Black, who suddenly had his face in one shaking hand.

"I have _not_ been helping Sirius" Remus repeated for the umpteenth time. "If you'll just give me a chance to explain. Look-" he separated the wands he had collected upon barging in and returned them to their rightful owners.

"There" Remus said sticking his own wand back into his belt "You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?"

"If you haven't been helping him" Harry said with a furious glance at Sirius "Then how did you know he was here?"

"The map" Remus answered "The Marauder's Map. I was in my office examining it-"

"You know how to work it?" Harry asked suspiciously "Of course I know how to work it" Remus rolled his eyes "I helped write it. I'm Moony-that was my friends' nickname for me at school."

"You _wrote_-?"

"The important thing is I looked at the map this evening and saw someone else on that map with you" Remus said.

"What? There was no one else with us!" Harry protested.

"I couldn't believe it" Remus said ignoring Harry's interruption "I thought the map must have been malfunctioning, I mean how could he have been with you?"

"No one was with us!" Harry yelled.

"I saw Sirius and the four of you in here and I came to see myself" Remus continued.

"There's only three of us" Harry corrected.

"No, four of you" Remus said as he walked up to Ron and stared intently at Scabbers.

"What?" Ron said holding Scabbers close "What's my rat got to do with anything?"

"That's not a rat" Sirius croaked suddenly.

"What? Of course he's a rat-"

"No, he's not" Remus said quietly "He's a wizard" he then looked over to Sirius, gesturing for him to continue.

"An Animagus" Sirius spoke "By the name of Peter Pettigrew."

"You're both mental!" Ron shouted.

"Peter Pettigrew is dead!" Harry yelled "He was killed 12 years ago! He killed him!" he pointed a finger at Sirius.

"I meant to back then, but the little rat got the best of me. I think I'll do it now though" Sirius growled, lunging towards Ron. But Remus immediately put an arm around his chest and held him back.

"Sirius, please" Remus said struggling to hold his friend back "You owe Harry and explanation, there are parts even I don't understand."

Sirius eased a bit "Alright...but I'll make things short." By this time Scabbers was squeaking madly, scratching and biting at Ron to try and escape.

"I guess we can begin with, I wasn't James and Lily's secret keeper...At the last minute I told James to change it to Peter. Because I would be such an obvious person to tell and what not. I told them to make Peter their secret keeper instead of me..." Sirius muttered,

"Alright, I've got that, but why Peter?" Remus narrowed his eyes.

"Because.." Sirius took a deep breath "Because at the time we suspected you to be the one that was leaking information to you-know-who."

"Me? I-But I don't understand, why James and Lily allow me to keep interacting with them and Harry if they thought I was leaking information?" Remus frowned, trying to hide the hurt tone in his voice.

"Well...it was me really..." Sirius looked down "James and Lily thought I was being paranoid until they where forced to go into hiding. That's when James started becoming more cautious of you. Lily didn't believe us for a second though. She never really did like Peter. She said we where letting this war blind us from who we could really trust and who we couldn't" Sirius let out a dry laugh "Hell, was she right. Too bad James and I didn't tolerate any of her talk."

Remus's just hung slightly open. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. They thought...he was the spy? Did they really have that little faith in him?

"The night they where killed, I have a very unsettling feeling so I went to visit Peter" Sirius continued "When he wasn't home I immediately ran to James and Lily's house. That's when I saw what Voldemort had done. I figured as much as you did and as you can probably imagine I was furious. I ran off to find Peter, bent on killing him and making him pay. I found him in the middle of a busy street. The little rat was terrified when he saw me. He knew I was going to kill him. So he blew up half the street, transformed into a rat and cut off his own finger to make it look like he was dead. He ran off like the coward he always was. It looked like I killed them all. I had no one to prove otherwise and I was thrown into Azkaban."

Silence resonated around the room. Everyone took a moment to let the information sink. But before anyone could make any sort of reaction, a new figure stepped through the door, wand pointed directly at Remus's neck.

Severus Snape.

"Severus..." Remus muttered breathlessly.

"Careless of you to leave that map of yours out in the open like that, Lupin. I found you so easily with that handy little object" Snape drawled.

"Listen, Severus-"

"I've told the headmaster again and again that you're helping Black into the castle, Lupin and here's proof. There will be two more in Azkaban tonight" Snape's face glowed with suppressed triumph. He snatched Remus's wand from his belt and pointed it at Sirius. Now he had both Remus and Sirius at point blank range. "Now come along children.

But Harry suddenly strode over and blocked the door.

"Step aside Potter" Snape snarled "If I hadn't been here to save your skin-"

"Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year Harry said "I've been alone with him loads of times, having defense lessons against dementors. If he was helping Black then why didn't he just finish me off then?"

Remus winced a bit at hearing Harry address Sirius so harshly. He did smile a bit thought at the fact that Harry was defending him.

"Do not ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works, Potter now move out of the way you arrogant boy....before I make you" Snape growled. And then much to Remus's horror and pleasure, Harry pointed his wand straight at Snape and screamed "EXPELLIARMUS!" Except his wasn't the only voice that shouted. Remus noticed Ron and Hermione disarm Snape at the exact same moment, causing the potions master to be lifted off his feet and slammed into the nearest wall and knocked out cold.

"We attacked a teacher" Hermione panicked a bit.

"Good job, Harry" Remus ignored Hermione's whimper.

"This doesn't mean I trust you" Harry said half-heartedly.

"Alright then, let us give you proof" Remus said grabbing at the opportunity to expose Peter "Please give me Peter, now."

"But wait!" Ron yelled "Come on, how many million rats are there in the world? How is this your rat?"

Remus thought for a moment "Actually he's got a point Sirius, how did you know this was Peter?"

"This" Sirius said as he took out an old crumpled newspaper from his pocket. Remus surveyed the front and saw it was a picture of The Weasleys in Egypt, and on Ron's shoulder-oh yes that was unmistakably Peter's animagus. "I've seen Peter transform millions of times. I recognized him right away" Sirius explained. "Plus he's missing a toe on the right paw, biggest part of Pete that they found was that finger he cut off."

"Enough, Sirius, there's only one way to settle this, Ron give me the rat" Remus put out a hand.

"What are you going to do to him?" Ron asked tensely.

"Force him to show himself. If he's really a rat then nothing's going to happen to him" Remus assured him.

Ron hesitated, then at long last he held out Scabbers and Remus immediately snatched him away. Scabbers suddenly began to squeak like mad.

"Ready, Sirius?"Remus turned to his friend "Together."

Sirius nodded as he retrieved Snape's wand.

"One-two-THREE!"

A flash of blue-white light erupted from both wands and for a moment, Scabbers was frozen in mid-air, the rat then fell on the floor. There was another flash and then-

There was a man. Suddenly there was a man in the place of the small rat. He was very short, hardly taller than Harry. His thin, colorless hair, unkempt along with a bald spot atop his head. His features were very rat like, from his little beady eyes to the sharp claw-like nails. His eyes darted from everyone around the room to the door.

"Well, hello Peter" Remus said pleasantly. He had to admit he was a bit surprised at Peter's appearance. What happened to him?

"S-Sirius, R-Remus" his voice was squeaky. His eyes darted to the door once more "My friends, my old friends..." and suddenly out of no where he made a break for the door. Remus and Sirius however where quick to grab his arms and push him back. The cornered him behind the old piano, one man to each side.

"You sold Lily and James out to Voldemort!" Remus growled.

"Please, understand Remus, he was going to kill me! What would you have done, Sirius?" Peter begged.

"I WOULD HAVE DIED! I WOULD HAVE DIED BEFORE I BETRAYED LILY AND JAMES!" Sirius roared.

"You should have known, Peter, that if Voldemort didn't kill you, then we would" Remus gave a sort of twisted grin as he pulled out his wand.

"No, wait" Harry called out. Remus and Sirius both turned to him with murderous expressions "I don't think my dad would've wanted his two best friends to become murderers...we'll bring him up to the castle...the dementors can have him there."

Peter suddenly turned pale.

Remus looked over to Sirius who admittedly nodded. So with the silent agreement Remus grabbed Peter and held him at wand point while Sirius helped Ron out.

The six made it out of the Shack with much difficulty, what with Ron's broken leg(which Remus had no idea how came to be, but he guessed it had something to do with Sirius) and having to drag Peter out.

Once they where out, Hermione sat Ron down to look at the leg, while Sirius took Harry aside to speak. Remus decided to give them their time while he held Peter and made sure he didn't go anywhere. He ignored the little rat's constant pleas for mercy and just looked away.

And then suddenly...a cloud shifted revealing the vibrant glow...of the full moon.

"HARRY!" Hermione's scream pierced the air. They both spun around to face him. Ans suddenly Remus's body gave an uncontrollable shudder. He glanced out into the sky and was terrified to see the moon, glowing in his face. Things got a bit foggy for him after that point. All he could register was the blinding pain that was shooting up his body from being recomposed from that of a human to that of a werewolf. He vaguely felt Sirius run up and grab a hold of him; and he tried to so desperately to hold him back, but the transformation had already begun and it suddenly hit Remus...that he hadn't taken the wolfsbane tonight. He wasn't safe.

Remus cried out as his body twisted and stretched to fit the form of the wolf. He tried as hard as he could to cling to his human mind....but it was too late. The wolf had already taken over and there was nothing but darkness

**HP**

**HP******HP**

**HP**

**Oh noes!!! Poor Remus =( Well guys, this was the second to last chapter. Well technically this is the last chapter since the next one is just an epilogue so stay tuned!!! =]**

**And Please Review!!**


	9. Until We Meet Again

**Alright guys, here you go, the last one ;] Enjoy!**

Just like he did after every single one of his transformations, Remus Lupin gained consciousness, feeling like hell.

He tried to love to some degree(perhaps to figure out what exactly that fuzzy object pressed against his chest was...) but failed terribly. His body ached far beyond his own recognition and he decided to simply lay there in his misery for a moment.

But after a while it actually registered to him that something...furry and breathing was lying next to him, passing on heat to his own rapidly freezing body. He forced his eyes open and tried to get them in focus. Once that was done, he shifted so he could look down and see what this mystery fuzz ball was and found, curled up against his chest was...a sleeping black dog.

"Sirius?" he muttered groggily. He was so out of it he could barely even register if this was really happening or not.

The dog opened a single eye and looked up at him. Realizing he was awake, the dog uncurled itself, stretched a bit and stood up. I wagged its tail and gave Remus a pleasant lick on the cheek.

Remus had meant to smile after that, but whether it actually made it to his lips or not, he wasn't too sure. He reached a hand up and softly stroked the dog's fur for a moment before his hand gave out on him.

The dog placed a warm paw on his cheek and gave him another lick, this time on the nose. It looked like it was about to do more when it's ears suddenly flipped in on direction. He listened for a bit before delivering one last lick and bounding off into the thick woods.

And if Remus didn't know any better then he would've found it increasingly odd that before leaving, the dog seemed to have winked at him.

"Remus, dear, is that you?" the voice of Madam Pomfrey filled the air. So that's why Sirius left... "Remus?"

Remus wished he could do something, anything to let her know that he was alright, but he found himself completely immobile at the moment. He felt a warm hand on his shoulder and a warm fuzzy blanket(that reminded him oddly of Sirius) being draped over his shoulders.

"Come, now dear, do you think you can move?" he heard Madam Pomfrey call. Remus growled deeply at the back of his throat in defeat. And as Madam Pomfrey offered him support, he leaned on her and managed to sit upright.

"Do you think you can make it back, dear?" she asked sweetly.

"Yes..." Remus answered grimly.

"Remus dear...there's something you should probably know before returning to the castle..." she said, eyes downcast.

"I've been sacked, haven't I?" Remus groaned "I'm not too surprised after yesterdays incidents..."

"No, dear you haven't been sacked, it's that...Professor Snape slipped out to the Slytherins of your...erm condition....and that you'd been loose in the grounds last night."

Remus frowned deeply and buried his face in his hands. That was another valuable precious thing lost due to his bloody lycanthropy. Of course Dumbledore hadn't sacked him or anything but the owls would start coming in soon and he did not need parents knowing that their children were being taught by a werewolf-especially Slytherin parents.

"Remus, are you alright, dear?" Madam Pomfrey said softly.

"Yes...no..." he whispered

He knew what he had to do.

**HP**

**HP******HP**

**HP**

Remus had never felt more sadness in the world than when he headed up to Dumbledore's office right after he got to the castle that morning, ans asked to resign. Of course Dumbledore tried to do everything to get him to stay, but his mind was made. He probably couldn't bear knowing how his other students would take the news of his condition. In the end Dumbledore sadly granted him his resignation and now here he was packing up the oh so memory filled office.

He smiled as he placed yet another card into his trunk. As soon as news of his resignation had gotten around, his office was suddenly flooded with cards, howlers, and everything of that sort mostly from Gryffindors, others from Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, and some even from the Slytherin, asking him to stay, telling him that his being a werewolf didn't bother them one bit. Remus loved their innocence so much and he knew he would miss these children with his life.

He looked up to the Marauder's Map which was spread across his desk and saw a little dot labeled Harry, heading up to his office. He smiled at the thought of seeing Harry one last time. Nevertheless he continued packing and when Harry stepped in soundlessly, he said "Hello, Harry." He turned to face the boy and saw him raising a brow "I saw you coming" Remus said pointing at the map.

"I just saw Hagrid" Harry looked rather pale at the moment "He said you were resigning. It's not true is it?" Remus almost winced at the indirect plea for him to stay.

"I'm afraid it is" Remus sighed as he began to clean out the last of his belongings from his desk.

"Why?" Harry said "The Ministry doesn't think you where helping Sirius do they?"

Remus noted the use of Sirius's first name and decided some bonding must have happened while the wolf was on it's wild rampage.

"No, Professor Dumbledore managed to convince them that I was down there trying to save your lives" Remus sighed "That was the final straw for Severus. I think the loss of the Order of Merlin hit him hard. So-er-he _accidentally _let slip that I am a werewolf this morning at breakfast.

"You're not leaving because of that!" Harry half yelled.

Remus smiled wryly.

"This time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving from parents...They will not want a werewolf teaching their children and after last night I see their point. I could have bitten any of you, and that must never happen again."

"You're the best defense teacher we've ever had! Don't go!" Harry cried.

Remus felt his heart break at the tone of Harry's voice. It was the same tone he had used last night in the Shack when he felt like everyone was turning on him. It was desperate. To keep his emotions in check Remus continued packing, without a word.

After a while he said "From what I hear about last night, you saved quite a few lives. Harry if I'm proud of anything , then it's how much you've learned this year. So tell me about your patronus."

"How'd you know about that?" Harry asked distractedly.

"Well, who else could have driven back that entire mob of dementors?" Remus smiled. His smile deepened when Harry explained to him all that had happened the night before.

"I'm very proud Harry-here I brought this back from the Shack last night" he said handing Harry his invisibility cloak "And..." he hesitated as he held out the Marauder's Map as well "I am no longer your teacher and feel no guilt whatsoever in returning this to you."

Harry looked at the map and grinned.

"I have a feeling that we will meet again Harry" Remus smiled as he gathered his coat and his walking stick in his hands "But until then" he gazed over at the map "Mischief Managed." The map curled itself up back into a regular piece of parchment. Harry smiled.

"Goodbye Professor" he spoke softly.

"Goodbye Harry, until we meet again" Remus said giving the boy a half-hug, before he looked into those piercing green eyes one last time, and walked out.

And as Remus Lupin stepped out of the castle which he loved so dearly, he felt no regrets. He had met his little Prongslett and even become unconditionally close with him. He'd patched up with his best friend and found out who the real traitor was. So technically speaking all was well...for now at least. Because this wasn't over...

Oh no, this story was far from over.

**HP**

**HP*******HP*******HP**

**HP**

**There you have it, the last chapter of POA From Another's Eyes. I really hope you gusy enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it. For thosee of you that reviewed and put this on alert, thank you so much, it is very much appreciated =] **

**One last time, Review! ;]**


End file.
